


PREFACE. 



TH E efforts which have been made to dif • 
Credit the exiftence of Illuminifm, and the torrents of 
,?.bufe which have been fo liberally poured on fuch as 
have attempted, apparently from the pureft motives, 
to unveil this myftery of iniquity, have in part pro- 
duced the end defigned. Some have mi ftaken vocifer- 
ation for argument, and confident aflertions for proofs 7 
while others have been prevented from publishing then 
belief and their fears, not chooiing to encounter the 
fhafts of ridicule and defamation - r weapons found to 
be of great importance in this age of reafon. A general 
ftupor has hence taken place of that juft alarm, occa- 
sioned by the firft- difcovery of this infernal com 
But has the caufe of alarm ceafed ? There h 
:h clamor indeed, but have any folid, fatis: 
ofs been exhibited, either that there has not been, 
not now exifting, a confpiracy, which has for its 
dtimate object, the abolition of chriftianity and gov- 
rnment ? Solid proofs alone ought to fatisfy us on a 
; i. bj eel: fo highly interefting to mankind. Such proofs 
!) ve not, I confefs, come to my knowledge. Recent 
events do, on the contrary, confirm my belief, that a 
fyftematicai attempt is now in operation to undermine 
he foundation of every religious, moral, and fociai 
: lablifhment. To thofe who have this belief, it muft 
appear important that the impending danger be placed 
in the mod confpicuous point of view j that the evi- 



? R E ¥ A C £. 



dence of this fact 3 now difrufed through expenilve, and 
voluminous tracts, and ariling from a variety of cir- 
cumftances, fhould be collected into one poipt, freed 
n the obfcurity in which it has bttn induftrioufly 
involved, and the whole comprifed in a volume, eafy to- 
the purchafer, and intelligible to every reader. The 
importance of fuch a publication at the prefent critical 
period, and which I have expected, and hoped to fee 
from fome abler hand, is all the apology I have to offer 
for undertaking the talk. 

To defend religion, by expofing the plots concerted 

its deftruetion, is the principal object of this publi- 

n : and if any thing of a political nature is intro- 

!, it is with a tfew of detecting, and counteracting 

that dark policy, which has connected the fubverfion of 

good government, with the overthrow of chrif- 

tfcmity. 

I claim no merit for difcovering what I could not 
d feeing, but by {hutting my eyes ; and I fear 
ceniure, for I have obeyed the call of duty. I hav 
hope of convincing thofe who have had accefs to 
evidence here referred to, but for reafons beft knowr 
tkemfelves, have rejected it ; nor the many who b 
prefumed to give judgment without examination : 
fbtement of evidence is for thofe who have no mc6 
of vifipn ; and thofe, whofe optics have been inj* 
by the duft which fophifby, prejudice, and the po- 
of darknefs have railed, Could I contribute but a r 
which is my all, to preferve my country from that 
tex of anarchy, which has ingulphed the liberties, c: * 
and religious, and the peace, property, and lives of 
lions, my labor will not he unrewarded. 



PRE'LIMINART OBSERVATIONS: 



1 O remove the obftru&ions which prej- 
udiced and defigning men have raifed, is often 
a neceffary, but laborious and ungrateful tafk, 
attending our inquiries after truth. No fooner 
is the precious gem brought to view, than its 
enemies, who hate its light, and cannot endure 
its brilliancy, are bufily employed in covering 
it with filth and rubbifh ; hence much of the 
Mr of thofe who wifh to poffefs the heav- 
enly boon* 

The teftimony of Profeffor Robifon, 2nd- 
Abbe Barnrel, would doubtlefs have been con- 
Idered as ample, in any cafe which did net 
ntereft the prejudices and paflions of men 
againft them. The fcurrility and odium with 
which they have been loaded is perfectly nat- 
ural, and what the nature of their teftimony 
would have led any one to expect. Men will 
endeavor to invalidate that evidence which 

A2 



6 Proofs of the Ex. fence 

tends to unveil their dark defigns : and it can- 
not be expected that thofe who believe that 
" the end fan&ifies the means," will be very 
fcrupulous as to their meafures. Certainly he 
was not, who invented the following charac- 
ter, and arbitrarily applied it to Dr. Rabifon, 
which might have been applied with as much 
propriety to any other perfon in Europe or 
America. The character here referred to, is 
taken from the American Mercury, printed at 
Hartford, Sept. 26, 1799, by E. Babcock. In 
this paper, on the pretended authority of Pro 
feiTor Ebeling; * we are told. " That Robifon 
had lived too faft for his income, and to fup- 
ply deficiencies, had undertaken to alter a bank 
bill ; that he was dete&ed, and fled to France ; 
that having been expelled the Lodge in Edin- 
burgh, he applied in France for the fecond 
grade, but was refufed } that he made the 
fame attempt in Germany, and afterward 

* It Is but juftlce to the character of ProfefTcr Ebdin 
to fay, that -in none of his Letters to his American C 
refpondents, of which T have information, has he g. 
the leaft intimation that ProfeiTor Robifon was gt 
of the crimes here imputed to him. Nor has he, tc 
knowledge, ever criminated his moral character. T 
bale calumnies originated, not from Mr, Ebeling, 
from a fpii it of malignant oppofiticn to Dr. Robi 
and they furnilh ftrcng evidence of the truth c 
writings. 



and Eificu of Ulununifm. 7 

Ruilia, but never fucceeded ; and from this 
entertained the bittereft hatred to mafonry ; 
that after wandering about Europe, for two 
years, by writing to Secretary Bundas, and 
preferring a copy of his book, which, it was 
judged, would anfwer certain purpofes of the 
miniftry, the profecution againft him was flop- 
ped, the Profeifor returned in triumph to his 
country, and now lives upon a handfome pen- 
fion, inftead of fuffcring the fate of his predo 
ceffor Dodd." 

A writer, in the National Intelligencer^ of 
Jan. i3oi, who fiyles himfeif " A friend to 
Truth," and from whom, (if conjecture has 
pointed out the real author) better things 
ought to have been expelled, {peaks of Dn 
Robifon as " a man diftinguifhed by abject 
dependence on a party j by the bafe crimes of 
forgery, and adultery j and by frequent pa- 
roxyifms of infinity/' 

As Dr. Robifon is a principal evidence in 
the caufe now pending, it will be neceffary to 
inquire, whether this is indeed a juft view of 
the man. The refult of this inquiry, contraft- 
ed with the above character, will fcrve to give 
the public tome idea of the means which have 



8 Proofs of the Exijlenoe 

how benevolently difpofed forne among us are> 
to prevent their countrymen from being mif- 
led by what are called, the ridiculous reveries of 
Robifon. The reader's patience, it is feared, 
will be exhaufted by the detail of credentials 
which the effrontery of his accufers have ren- 
dered neceffary ; but the character of a wit- 
nefs is of the firft: importance. The follow- 
ing Iketch of the principal events of the life 
of Dr. Robifon, was drawn up from authen- 
tic documents, received direft from Edin- 
burgh, through a refpeftable channel.* 

" The father of the Profeffor, a refpe&abie 
country gentleman, intended him for the 
church, and gave him eight years of an Uni- 
verfity education at Glafgow. Prefering a 
different profeffion, he accepted an offer of go- 
ing into the Navy, with very flattering prof- 
pefts. He was appointed Mathematical In 
ftru&or to his Royal Highnefs the Duke of 
York. In that office, he accordingly entered 
the Navy in February, 1759, being that day 

* Concerning the facls contained in this hiilorica! 
Sketch, which were communicated to Dr. Erikine, he 
writes thus. " The mod important facts in it I have 
had accefs to know, being firft fettled at Kirkintillock, 
the neighbouring parifh to Boderoch, where lay the eftate 
of his worthy father. For the few fadts of which I know 
kfs ? fall and unexceptionable vouchers can be produced." 



and EffeBs of 1/... g 

twenty years old. He was prefent at the fiege 
of Quebec. With the late Admiral Knowles, 
he was particularly connected, and his for., 
afterwards captain Knowles, one of the moft 
promising young officers in the Britifli Navy, 
was committed to his charge. 

In 1 761, he was lent by the board of Admi- 
ralty, to make trial of Harrifon's Watch at Ja- 
maica. At the peace of 1763, he returned to 
College. In 1764, he was again appointed by 
the Admiralty to make trial of Harrifoirs 
improved Watch at Barbadoes ; but his pat- 
ron, Lord Anfon, being dead, and the condi- 
tions not fuch as pleafed him, he declined the 
employment, returned again to College, and 
took under his care the only remaining fon of 
his friend, Sir Charles Knowles. This fon is 
the prefent Admiral Sir Charles Knowles. In 
1/70, Sir Charles was invited by the Emprefs 
of Ruffia to take charge of her Navy. He 
took Mr. Robifon with him as his Secretary. 
In 1772, Mr. Robifon was appointed fuperin- 
tendant of the education in the Marine Cadet 
Corps, where he had under his direction about 
500 youth, 350 of whom were fons of noble- 
men and gentlemen, and 26 mafters in the dif- 
ferent ftudies. The Academy being burnt, Mr- 
Robifon, with his pupils, removed to an 



id Proofs of the Exi/ience 

ancient palace of Peter the Great at Cronftadtf, 
a moft miferable, defolate ifland, where, find- 
ing no agreeable fociety, he availed himfelf of 
the firft opportunity, of quitting fo unpleafant 
a fituation, and accepted an invitation from 
the Magiftrates of Edinburgh, to the Profef- 
ibrfhip of Natural Philofophy in the Univer- 
Jity in that city, which ranks among the firft 
Univeriities in the world. To this very hon- 
orable office he acceded in Auguft, 1774, and 
from that time continued his leftures, without 
interruption, till 1792, when illnefs obliged 
him to afk for an affiftant. To enable him to 
give fuch a falary to his afliftant, as would 
make the place worth the acceptance of a man 
of talents, the King was pleafed to give him a 
penfion of ^.iooa year. After five years con- 
finement, by a painful diforder, he refumed his 
chair, in 1797* 

In 1786, he was ele&ed a member of the Phi- 
lofophical Society at Philadelphia, of which Mr, 
Jefferfon is Prefident ; and in 1797, a mem- 
ber of the Royal Society of Manchefter. In 
3799, after the publication of his book, the 
Univerfity of Glafgow, where he received his 
education, conferred on him, unfolicited, the 
honor of a Do&or's degree in Law, in which, 
contrary to the ufual cuftom in thefe cafes, is 
given a very particular and flattering account of 



and EffeBs of llhtmi?iifm. 1 1 

his nine years ftudies in that Univerfity. This 
peculiar evidence of efteem and refped was 
given in this way, in order that his Diploma 
might have all the civil confequences which 
long ftanding could give. When he publifh- 
ed his book, in 1797, he was Secretary of the 
Royal Society of Edinburgh. In April, 1800, 
without folicitation of a iingle friend, he was 
unanimoufly ele&ed a Foreign Member (there 
are but fix) of the Imperial Academy of Sci- 
ences, at St. Peterfburg, (which, in point of 
reputation, is efteemed the third on the con- 
tinent of Europe) in the room of the much 
lamented and highly celebrated Dr. Black. 
To prepare for the prefs, and fuperintend the 
publication of the Chemical writings of this 
great man, required the ableft Chemift in 
Great Britain* This diftinguiihed honor has 
been conferred on Profeffor Robifon, who has 
undertaken this important work. This ap- 
pointment, for which no man perhaps is more 
competent, together with the numerous, learn- 
ed, and copious articles which he has furnifli- 
ed for the Encyclopedia Brittanica, fully evince 
that in reputation and folid learning, he ranks 
among the firft literary characters in Europe. 
Add to all this, hefujlains a moral character, 
fo fair andunblemifoed) that any man ?nayfafely be 



r % Proofs of the Exificncc 

challenged to lay any thing to his charge of which an 
- '} nuvi need be ajhamed*'* 

The following account of Profeffor Robi- 
fon, is from a Work, entitled " Literary Me- 
moirs of Living Authors of Great Britain, 
&c." in two volumes, 8vo. publifhcd in Lon- 
don, 1798, for R. Faulder : 

* c John Robifon, Efq. M. A. Secretary to 
the Royal Society at Edinburgh, and Profef- 
for of Natural Philofophy in the Univerlity. 
Profeffor Robifon is diftinguiihed for his ac- 
curate and extenfive knowledge, efpecially on 
fubjecls of fcience. He contributed to the 
Encyclopedia Brittanica the valuable articles, 
Phyfics, Pneumatics, Prxceffion of the Equi- 
noxes, Projediles, Pumps, Refinance of Flu- 
ids, River, Roof, Rope making, Rotation, 
Seamanfhip, Signals, Sound, Specific Gravity, 
Statics, Steam, Steam-Engine, Strength of 
Materials, Telefcope, Tide, Articulating Trum- 
pet, Variation of the Compafs, and Water- 
Works, alio Philofophy, in affociation with 
Dr. Gleig. 

In the autumn of the year 1797, Profeffor 
Robifon publifhed an octavo volume, entitled 
" Proofs of a Confpiracy, &c." This volume 



and Effects of Illuminifm. 15 

has been favorably received, and although 
too hafty a performance for a work of io 
much confequence, is well entitled, both from 
its fubject and its authenticity, to the feri- 
ous attention of every reader. It arrives at 
the fame remarkable conciufion as the cele- 
brated Memoirs of the AbbeBarruel, illuft rat- 
ing the hiftory of Jacobinifm, though the au- 
thors were perfectly unconnected with each 
other, and purfued their inquiries in very dif- 
ferent ways. It has raifed (we are forty for 
fuch an appearance) a considerable clamor and 
enmity againft the Profeflbr ; though it was 
written, we are fully convinced, from the befl: 
of motiveSc We cannot conclude this article 
without obferving that the principles, and 
honeft zeal, which Profeflbr Robifon has dis- 
played upon this occafion, are highly credita- 
ble to him, and merit the warmeft acknowl- 
edgements from fociety in general. " 

The following is an extract of a letter from 
one of the moft refpectable literary characters 
which Scotland has produced, dated March, 
1800. The writer of this letter is now in 
America. I have not his leave to mention 
his name* 

" Profeflbr Robifon's character is fo well 
eftablifhed among thofe who know him beft, 

1 



*4 Proofs of the Exigence 

that it would be ridiculous, at Edinburgh, to 
call in queftion his veracity or ability, "i had 
read many of his authorities in the German originals 
before his book was publijhcd ; and the firft notice 
I received of it was, in the preface to Dr. 
Erikine's fketches of ecclefiaftical hiftory, 
where you will ice the honorable teftimony 
that he gives Mr. Robifon, and the great ex- 
peclation that he had from his publication." 

The Rev. Dr. Erikine, whofe character As 
generally known, and refpe&ed in America, 
and who is a neighbor to Dr. Robifon, in a 
letter, dated Edinburgh, September 25, 1800, 
fays, " I think highly of ProfeiTor Robifon's 
book. -Some of the moft fhockins: fads 
it contains, I knew before its publication, 
from a periodical account of the church hif- 
tory of the times, by ^Profeffor Koefter at 
X^ieiTen, of which I lent him all the numbers 
relating to that fubjech For three years, that 
valuable work has been difcontinued, whether 
from the artifices of Illumiaati bookfellers, 
,to prevent its fale and fpread, or from the au- 
thor's bad health, I knov/ not.'* 

In a fubfequent letter, of June 13, 1801, 
/peaking of the forementioned criminations 
M Dr, Robifon's charafter 3 which have been 



and Eflcls of Blunw iy 

circulated In America, the Dr. fays, " Had 
they been fent to Edinburgh, for their palpa- 
ble falsehood, they would have been defpif- 
ed and detefied" 

In the appendix to the Centurial Sermon of 
Dr. Dwight, Prefldent of Yale College, pub- 
lifhed Jan. 7, iSoi, is an atteftation to the 
character of BrofeiTor Robifon, taken from 
a letter of Mr. J. Walker, a refpectable inhab- 
itant of Great Britain, to FrofeiTor Bocttiger, 
of Weimar in Germany ; publiflied in the 
Mercury of that city, -April, 1800, " It was 
written in anfwer to fome very fevere afper- 
lions on Mr. Robifon, hj Mr.' -Boettiger ; and 
fuch was the character of the writer, and 
fuch the weight of his teftimony, that Mr. 
Boettiger amply, as well as honorably, re- 
tracted his afperfions." Refering to the ex- 
alted character he had given of Dr. Robifon, 
he fays, " Nor is this the ex:/ -iie 

of a friend ; no one who km 
fon, as I have known him, a .■_'■; 

univerfilly known in Britain, will dare to 
call it in queftion."* 

* I have farther evidence on this fubjecl:, but I con- 
it needlefs to introduce it. What is laid before the 
reader is more than fufficient to eftablifli Dr. Robifon** 
character. It adds no fmail his opinion ; and 



2 5 Proofs of the Exijience 

The characler of the Abbe Barruel, fo far 
as it refpects his credibility as a witnefs, I be- 
lieve has not been impeached. The honeft 
warmth, apparent in every part of his cele- 
brated work, renders it difficult for us to 
doubt his fincerity, whatever opinion we may 
form of his judgment. If the fervor of his 
zeal has hurried him into a rafli cenfure, or 
an unwarrantable conclufion, does not the 
fame fervor compel us to refpecl him as a 
writer, who felt the truth and importance of 
his fubjeel ? Shall we condemn him becaufe 
lie writes with the ardor of the moft exqui- 
iite feelings ? How could he but feel, when 
he faw the religion and government which he 
loved, demolifhed, and the country, above 
all others dear to him, converted into a field 
of carnage, and bleeding at every pore, pierc- 
ed with the daggers of men, who " owed 
their greatnefs to their country's ruin ?" His 
attachment to principles not admitted in 
America, has doubtlefs weakened the im- 
preflions which his teftimony ought to have 

affords us a degree of affurance, that what he has piib- 
liihed upon the iubject of Illummifm, is neither vifionary 
nor trifling. The reputation he had acquired in the liter- 
ary world, forbids us to fuppofe that he would have added 
bis name to fuch a publication, unlefs convinced that the 
facts he Hates, and attefts, were important and well au- 
thenticated. 



and Fjfeds of 1 * 7 

made. While we hear him pleading in fup- 
port of fentiments in religion, which in our 
view are abfurd ; advocating a government, 
which we confider as tyrannical; and denounc- 
ing focieties as dangerous, of which we our- 
felves, perhaps, are innocent members, we nat- 
urally connect the abmrdity of thefe fenti- 
ments, with the facts adduced in their fup~ 
port. It is an obvious remark, that the value 
of thefe Memoirs coniifts, net in the religious 
or political opinions, but in ■■ the* important 
facts, they contain, Thefe appear, generally 9 
to be ftated with great accuracy, and with a 
ftrift regard to truth ; and from thefe, the 
author candidly invites us to judge for our- 
felves. As became an honeft man, together 
with his opinion, he has given us the facts 
and circumfrances upon whicli that opinion 
was founded ; leaving the reader to correct-, 
if he fee caufe, his too hafty judgment. 

That the Abbe, by making his own fenti- 
ments the ftandard in politics and religion, 
has cenfured fome perfons v/hom proteftants 
and republicans would juftify, is not to be 
denied ; but has he aiTerted any thing as a fact, 
without ftating carefully the evidence upon 
which his opinion was founded ? 

B 2 



1 8 Proofs of the Exiflence 

It is obvious that the teftimony of thefe 
writers is greatly ftrengthened by its remark- 
able coincidence. It appears that Dr. Robi- 
fon's work was publifhed juft as the third 
volume of the Abbe's Memoirs was going to 
the prefs, andprecifely in thofe circumftances, 
which muft have prevented either of them 
from fuggefting to the other, either the plan 
of their propofed publications, or the princi- 
pal authorities by which they are authenti- 
cated. The remarkable difference which ap- 
pears in thefe two writers with refpect to 
their methods of arranging, and communi- 
cating their thoughts ; their very different 
ideas of religious and political truth ; the ob- 
fcurity which, from the nature of it, at- 
tended the fubjeft ; the many remote circum- 
iiances with which it was connected, and ef- 
pecially the different plans they purfue ; Dr. 
Robifon combining, in one paragraph, what 
his memory compiled from many, while the 
Abbe, as he declares, " never made a quota- 
tion but with the original before him ; and 
when," fays he, " I make a tranflation which 
may ftagger the reader, I fubjoin the original, 
that each may explain and verify the text f f 
thefe things taken into view, a greater degree 
of harmony could not be expected from any 



and Effects of Illumimfm. 19 

two hiftorians relating events of equal mag- 
nitude.* 

But we have to encounter ftill more for- 
midable oppofition than any which has yet 
appeared, a^d that is Profeffor Ebeling's 
letter to his correfpondent in Maffachu- 
fetts, and publifhed in the Worcefter Gaz- 
ette, October 9, 1799. This letter appears 
to have been coniidered, by fame, as contain- 
ing plenary evidence againft the veracity of 
Dr. Robifon, and the credibility of his book. 
But, had not this letter been read with the 
fame hafte and eagernefs with which it ap- 
pears to have been written, certainly fo much 
importance would not have been attached 
to it. 

* The following teftimony, in favor of the authenticity 
of the works in queftion, is from a late reipectable writer. 

" The rife and progrefs of Jaccbimfm, which feems 
to include every fpecies of Infidelity, have been exam- 
ined with induflxy, and difplayed with correctnefs, by 
the Abbe Barruel and Profeffor Robifon. The facts 
brought forward in fupport of their affertions, have baf- 
fled the ingenuity of Jacobinifm itfelf to difprove. And 
thefe fa els have clearly fhown, that a confpiracy was actu- 
ally formed for the extinction of Christianity, and the 
abolition of government and focial order, by a fet of 
men whofe names demand the execration of mankind," 
Kett, on Prophecy, Lond. edition, iBoo,Vol. II, p. 119. 



so Proof j of U 

Upon reading this letter we naturally 
recollect an obfervation made by Profeffor 
Renner, one of the witneiTes from whom the 
public received the firft difclofure of the Illu- 
minated focieties. " There are men ;"■ fays 
lie, " who defend the order with great 
warmth, though they do not declare them- 
felves to belong to it. Such conduft cer- 
tainly jdeferves a little animadverfion. Either 
thefe defenders belong to the order, or they 
do not ; if they do nor, can they pretend 
to defend that which they neither know, nor 
have any pciTibility of knowing ? If they be- 
long to the order, that very circumftance 
renders them unworthy of belief."* The 
propriety of this remark will imprefs the 
reader more forcibly, when he is better ac- 
quainted with the arts by which the Uluminees 
conceal themfelves from the public. 

The great ftrefs which has been laid upon 
this letter, and the ufe which has been made 
of it, will juftify our bellowing on it particu- 
lar attention. 



It may be of fome importance to recollect, 
[r. Ebelins; has ackn< 

o 
* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. 



that Mr. Ebeling has acknowledged that it 



and Effects of llluminlfnu 2 1 

was written in hafte, and was, confequently, 
inaccurate. It was unfortunate that this fo- 
formation was not communicated, as ufual, 
at the clofe of the letter, where it might 
have been ufeful to guard us againft placing 
too much dependence on a hafty and inaccu- 
rate performance ; but it was given in a fub- 
fequent letter, after being informed that the 
previous one had been made public. Though 
this apology came too late for us, it may 
be ufeful to the Profeffor, and afford him 
a retreat, fliould fome of his many con- 
fident declarations, hereafter appear to be 
founded in error; 

Mr. Ebeling confiders Dr. Robifon's mif- 
reprefentations, as the refult of wicked inten- 
tion ; fpeaks of him as " an Engliflj hired, minif- 
terlal writer ;" and tells us, " his book is cer- 
tainly a party work, and not without apolitic- 
al dejign" In another part of the fame letter 
he afcribes Robifon's mifreprefentations to 
his " great ignorance of men, manners, andhiftory^ 
and of German characters, and language in partic- 
ular. " Perhaps Mr. Ebeling can reconcile 
thefe two contradictory caufes of the fame ef- 
fect. The tafk is beyond my ability. From 
thefe very different reprefentations, I can 
obtain no idea but this abfurd one, that Di. 



22 Proofs of the Exijlcnce. 

Robifon was hired by the Britiih miniftry, tcr 
give fuch a wrong view of things as would 
ferve their political purpofes ; that he under- 
took the talk, and- by the luckiefl miftake 
ftumbled upon that very fpot at which he was 
aiming, and which, had it not been for his 
grofs ignorance of men, manners, and hiftory, 
of German characters, and language, he proba- 
bly never would have attained. Let this form 
a new item among the advantages of igno- 
rance. 

But we have more important remarks to 
make upon this celebrated letter. Mr. Ebel- 
ing fpeaks of the exigence of Iiluminifm in 
Germany, as a matter of public notoriety; but, 
to preferve the impreiTron of its harmlefs na- 
ture, he fays of the Illuminees, " their defign 
was undoubtedly to prevent political and 
religious oppreffion y y and with a particular 
reference to Weifhaupt, the grand projector of 
Iiluminifm, further adds, " he was, as I fiip- 
pofe commonly Roman Catholics are, when 
they fee the errors of fuperftition, and know 
nothing of the protectant faith, or true relig- 
ion, at a lefs what to fubfiitute" Weifhaupt 
then, it is confeffed, wiflied to deftroy the belt 
religion he was acquainted with. He confid- 
©red popery as the religion of the Bible, and 



and Effecls of llluminlfnu 23 

this was hateful fuperftition. It appears, there- 
fore, from this ftatement of his Apologift, 
that he would have fpared no religion, for in 
his view there was no fubftitute for popery. 
The reader will obferve, that Weifhaupt was a 
Frofeffor in an Univerfity, and diftinguifhed 
for his literary acquirements; that he had 
framed many new fyftems of Chriftianity to 
deceive his adepts ; that Germany abounded 
with pro teft ants of every denomination, but 
-ftill there was no religion to his tafte, no fub« 
ilitute for popery. 

Mr. Ebeling alfo acknowledges that WeiHi- 
aupt, " in his younger life, was guilty of great 
deviations from pure morality " but in the fame 
paragraph in which he gives us this view of 
his moral character, and in the fame paragraph 
in which he acknowledges, that Weifhaupt 
could find no religion in all Germany, nor in 
the Bible, better than popery, which he hated, 
and was endeavoring to overturn ; Mr. Ebel- 
ing difplays his invincible charity by adding, 
J* but I am not convinced that he (Weifhaupt) 
.was ever in theory^ Gr practice^ an enemy to relig- 
ion ! !" Left the reader fhould not extend that 
charity to Mr. Ebeling, of which he himfelf is 
{q liberal, it may be neceffary here to remind 
;Mm ; that the Profeflbr wrote in hafte. In the 



24 Proofs of the Exlftcnce 

confufion of his thoughts he mull have loft 
the impreflion which Weiihaupt's character had 
formerly made upon his mind, and in the hur- 
ry of the moment, he marked the infidel and 
the debauchee, for a chnfvian ; for nothing lefs 
can he be who never was, " either in theory 
or practice, an enemy to religion." 

One great disadvantage, indeed, refults from 
this exuberance of the Profeflbr's hafty chari- 
ty, for who can allure us, that he has not 
equally miftakcn the many other characters, 
he introduces into his letter r This confidera- 
tion mull diminilh that fund of correct infor- 
mation, which fome imagine they poflefs in 
this long epiftle, and leave us room to doubt, 
at lealt, whether Dr. Robifon was fo very igno- 
rant of men and manners as he is represented. 

But will not this letter aflllt us in attaining 
fome thing beyond probabilities and conject- 
ure ? Mr. Ebeling has Lid much to difcredit 
the other authorities to which Dr. Robifon 
occafionally recurs for proof ; but I find noth- 
ing to weaken the evidence refulting from the 
teftimony of the four very refpe<5table witneiT- 
es, given under oath, refpecting the practices 
of the Uluminees ; nor, as far as I am able to 
afcertain, does he exprefs a doubt refpecting 



ftffefts of III 

writings, letters, and documents, found 
m the hands of the Society on the fcarch made 
in confequence of the teftimony abovemen- 
tioned. Here we have the code of the Socie- 
ty, their private correfpondence, and their 
own remarks upon the nature and defign of 
the inftitution ; thefe are admitted to be 
genuine ; and on thefe, as their proper ba- 
fis, Robifon and Barruel raife their fuper- 
ftruclure. Have we not here a clue, which 
will lead us out of this labyrinth of difcordarit 
©pinions ? Let us examine carefully, the 
ground on which we Hand. 

It is agreed, that a Society ofllluminees ex- 
ifted in Germany, inftituted by Weifhaupt, 
about the year 1776. It is agreed, that the 
papers found in the pofleflion of Counfellor 
Zwack, in 17 So, and thofe found in the Caftle 
of Sanderdorf, in 1787, on fearch made by or- 
der of his Highnefs the Elector of Bavaria, are 
authentic documents, drawn up by the lilu- 
minees, expreffing the plan and object of the 
order. It is agreed, that the object of this in- 
ftitution is the overthrow of all religion, and 
all government. No ; — this, though ftrange- 
ly afferted by Meffrs. Robifon and Barruel, 
Mr. Ebeling denies. To determine on which 
fide the truth lies, we muft appeal to 
c 



26 Proofs of the Exijicnce 

pers which are admitted to be authentic, and 
from them judge for ourfelves what were the 
real views of the Illuminees. By attacking 
every other witnefs in the caufe, Mr. Ebeling, 
by his filence, concerning the papers, has im- 
plicitly acknowledged their truth and validity. 

The reader is here reminded, that the quef- 
tion to be determined is not, whether Illu- 
minifm had an exiftence ; this is admitted : 
Nor whether it exifted as an organized body, 
poffefling its code of laws, and definite mode 
of operation ; for Mr. Ebeling himfelf informs 
us, that the Illuminees were inftituted, or 
formed into a body, about 1776. Nor is it a 
queftion whether this order of men had any 
thing in view beyond their own amufement, 
for the fame advocate of their caufe obferves, 
( < that their defign undoubtedly was, to pre- 
vent political and religious oppreffion." But 
,the important queftion to be determined is, 
whether this combination of men had not a^ 
higher object ? whether their ultimate aim 
was not the fubverfion of every fecial, moral, 
and religious obligation ? Taking this for our 
objeft, it will be needlefs to introduce into 
this work that part of the evidence above re- 
ferred to, which relates particularly to the fub- 
srerlion of the Romilh hierarchy and defpot- 



and Effeds of liluminifnn 27 

ifm, or political and religious oppreffion ; for 
all acknowledge that thefe were aimed at by 
the confpiracy. Our prefent concern is, with 
that part only of thefe writings which relates 
to the principal queftion, and is calculated to 
prove, that the IlliTminees were oppofed to the 
fundamental principles of all religion, and fo- 
cial order. 

The i^bbe Banners Memoirs comprehend 
a larger perio'd of time than Dr. Robifon's 
work ; his arrangements are more fyftemat- 
kal, and he traces the evil to its fource ; his 
method, without, however, being confined to 
it, will be principally followed. 

The Abbe Barruel's plan includes, 

Firft. The Anti-chriftlan Con/piracy^ or that 
of the Sophifters of impiety againft Chriftiani- 
ty, under every form and denomination. 

Secondly. The Anti-Monarchical Corf piracy. 
This part will be omitted in the following 
work, as unconnected with the queftion in 
view, and becaufe it is involved in the 

Third, or Anti-Social Con/piracy, in which 
the fophifters of impiety, coalefce with the 
fophiflers of Anarchy againft every religion, 



28 Prccfs of the Eb 

and every government, under the denomin- 
ation of lllumlnees ; and, theft agaia unite 
themfelves with the occult Lodges of Free Ma- 
fons, and tlius form the club of the Jacobins 
at Paris, who are the real directors of the 
French Revolution. This thtrdpart embraces 
the fubjeft of the Conspiracy of which Dr. 
Robifon treats ; and is more particularly in- 
terefling in our prefent inquiry. 

The evidence adduced in proof of the AniU 
ijiian Cqnfpiracy P are the writings of the 
Confpirators themfelves ; efpecially the Edi- 
tion of Voltaire's Works, by Beaumarchis, 
Thefe Works, it appears, were published 
when the fentiments they contain, were no 
longer coniidered as infamous in France.* 



* The proofs of the Anti-Social Confpiracy will be 
ed in connection with that part of the fubjecl to which 
relate. The reader will not expect to find, in this 
work, the particular references of the larger work, tran- 
scribed ; except where fome authority, not before mention- 
ed, is introduced. This would be needlefs, as the few, who 
would wifh to recur to the original authorities, may find eve- 
ry neceffary reference in the tranilati'cn of Barruel's Me- 
moirs, printed at Hartford, by Hudfou and Goodwin, 1.799? 
and in the fourth Edition of Robifon's Proofs, &c. printed 
at New- York, by George Forman, in 1799 ; which are thiv- 
Editions made life of in forming this aJb&rac'U 



and Effects of llhiminifnu 29 

The Author of thefe Memoirs declares it to 
be the important and friendly defign of his 
undertaking, to warn governments and man- 
kind of their danger, by proving to them, 
that the French Revolution, in all the circum- 
flances of horror which attended it, was the 
natural refult of the principles from which it 
proceeded ; and \hzX. Jimilar principles will pro- 
duce fimilar effects. Left any, confiding in their 
leagues of amity with France, and her pro- 
feflions of friendfhip, fliould imagine the 
warning needlels with refpect to themfelves, 
he again founds the alarm. Let America 
hear ! 

" When the phantom of peace fliallTeem to 
terminate the prefent war, between the Jaco- 
bins and the combined powers, it certainly will 
be the intereft of all governments to afcertain- 
how far fuch a peace can be relied on. At 
that period, more than any other, will it be ne- 
ceffary to ftudy the fecret hiftory of that feci j 
at that period we mull remember, that it is 
not in the field of Mars that the war againft 
fe&s is the moil dangerous ; that is a war of 
plots and confpiracies, and againft them public 
treaties can never avail. "* 

* Preliminary Difcourfe, EarrucVs Memoirs, Vol I, 

e 2 



3,o Proofs of the Exiffence- 



C H A P. I. 



The Actors, Exi/lence, Objefl, and Secret of the 
Conspiracy. 

PHENOMENA of the moft aftoniflring; 
nature have, within a few years paft, arretted 
the attention of mankind. Manners, and the 
ftate of fociety, have undergone a revolution 
which has appeared to extinguish, in many, 
every natural affe&ion, and to transform the 
moft civilized and polifhed, into the moft fe- 
rocious of men. The beft eftablifhed principles 
of natural and revealed religion, and the very 
foundations of moral and focial duty, obliga- 
tions never before controverted,, have been 
attacked by an hoft of enemies. A flood of 
infidelity has deluged the greater part of the^ 
Chriftianized world, threatening to fweep a- 
way every veftige of Chriftianity. And may 
it not be faid, almoft without a metaphor, 
that by an horrid Anti-Chriftian regeneration, 
a nation of Atheifts have been born in a day I: 



and Effects of Ttiumlmfm. 51 

Thefe are plain facts ; and they demand the 
moft ferious attention of mankind. It is not 
by framing fanciful theories, but by carefully 
tracing effects to their caufes, that we acquire 
ufeful knowledge and experience. Some ad- 
equate caufe, there muft have been, of this 
mighty mifchief. Whence fliall we date its 
origin ? To w 7 hat fliall we afcribe its rife and 
progrefs ? In anfwer to thefe queries we pre- 
iume to fay, that however acceffary other 
caufes may have been, the principal caufe is to 
be found in the following hiftorical abftra<5t> 

About the middle of the lafi century there 
appeared three men, leagued in the moft in- 
veterate hatred againft Chriftianity^VoLTAiRE 
the Chief, D'Alembert, diftinguifhed for 
his fubtilty, and Frederic II. King of Pruffia ; 
to which number was afterwards added Di- 
derot, whom, probably on account of his 
frantic impiety, the hiftorian charafterifes^ 
the forlorn hope. 

The neceffary brevity of this work will not 
permit us to defcend to a particular view of 
their feveral characters, yet the firft of thefe 
confpirators js fo diftinguifhed in this work, 
and in the literary world, as to juftify a more 
particular attention. 



2 i Proofs of the Exiftence 

Voltaire, the fon of an ancient notary of 
the Chatelet, was born at Paris, February 20, 
1694. His original name was Mary Francis 
Arouet, which, through vanity, he changed 
to Voltaire, as more fonorous, and more con- 
formable to the reputation at which he aimed. 
He was eminently diftinguifhed for his abili- 
ties, and for his thirft of dominion over the 
literary world. His talents, however, were 
more brilliant than folid, lefs fitted for deep 
inveftigation, but eminently calculated to a- 
mufe and captivate. He poffeffed all thofe 
pafiions which render abilities dangerous; and, 
unhappily, his appeared to be all early devoted 
to the overthrow of religion. While a ftu- 
dent, he received the following prophetic re- 
buke from his ProfeiTor : "Unfortunate young 
man, you will one day come to be the ftand- 
ard bearer of infidelity."* 

After leaving the College he affociated with 
men of abandoned morals ; and having given 
offence to the French government by fome fa- 
tirical effays, he fought an afylum in England* 
There he firft conceived the defign of over- 
throwing religion, by blending Philofophy with 
Impiety. Condorcet, his adept, his confident^ 

* Life of Voltaire, Edit, of KdL 



and Effci 33 

his hiftorian, and panegyrift, afferts in pofitive 
terms, " There it was that Voltaire /wore to ded- 
icate his life to the accomplifhn&rU of that project ; 
and he has kept his wot d "* 

On his return to Paris, about the year 1730, 
he became fo open in his deligns, and fo fan- 
guine in his hopes, that Mr. Herault, the lieu- 
tenant of Police, remarked to him, " Tou may 

do or write what you pleafe^ you will never he able 
to dejlrcy the Chrijlian religion" Voltaire, with- 
out hefitation, anfwered, " That is what w* 
fiallfee."\ 

While he yet flattered himfeif with the 
hopes of enjoying, alone, the whole glory of 
deftroying the Chriftian religion, (though he 
foon found that affociates would be neceffary) 
H I am weary" he would fay, " of hearing people 
repeat L , that twelve men have been fuffcient to 
ejtdblijh Chriflianity ', and I will prove that one 
mayfvffce to overt hrtzv it"\ 

Frederic alfo, dignified among the fophir- 
ters, with the title of " the Solomon of the 
North," and by the hiftorian with the epithet 
of " The Great/' claims, even in this brief 

* Life of Voltaire, Edit, of Sell. | Ibid « 1 



34 Proofs of the Exijience 

fketch, a more particular notice. To expreis 
his contrary, and almoft irreconcileable quali- 
ties, we find him painted a double man, exhib- 
iting two diftinct and oppofite characters. In 
one view of him, we fee the hero, and the 
father of his people, giving life to agriculture 
and commerce ; in another, the fophifter, the 
philofophical pedant, the confpirator againlt 
Chriftianity. The contradiftions in his char* 
acler are transcribed in his letters ; at one 
time, extolling, in glowing terms, the morality 
of the gofpel ; and at another, afferting, that 
" Christianity yields none but poifonous weeds" 

There can be no doubt, however, that 
Frederic united cordially, as he did early, with 
the enemies of religion. Even at that early 
age, when he was only Prince-Royal, in his cor- 
refpondence with Voltaire, he had adopted the 
ftyle of the modern Philofopher ; for he thus 
writes, " To fpeak with my ufual freedom, I 
muft naturally own, that whatever regards the 
God made man, difpleafes me in the mouth of a 
Philofopher, who fliould be above popular er- 
ror. We may fpeak of fables, but merely as 
fables ; and a profound filence, in my opinion, 
ftould be kept, concerning thofe fables of the 



and Effects of Ittumiriifm. 35 

Chriftians, fanctified by time and the credulity 
of the abfurd and ftupid."* 

But what did this boafted wifdom avail ? 
While foaring, in imagination, far above 
their fellow mortals, we fee them in the fame 
fituation in which every perfon will find him- 
felf, who relinquifhes the guiding light of 
Revelation, wandering in the wildernefs with- 
out a path, and without a compafs. " Is there 
a God fuch as he is faid to be ? A foul fuch as 
H imagined ? Is there any thing to be hoped 
for after this life ?" Thefe queftions, the com- 
fortable fruits of infidelity, were propofed by 
Voltaire to D'Alemhert ; to which he anfwers, 
with the fame admirable philofophic wifdom, 
that " No, in metaphyfics, appeared to him 
not much wifer than yes ; and that non liquet (it 
is not clear) was generally the only rational 

* As Frederic is another of Mr. Eheling's Chriftians, 
who, he intimates, died in the hope of a better life, I beg 
leave to introduce a fhort fketch of his character, drawn 
by a fkilful, and apparently, impartial pen. " Mod unjuft- 
ly (fays the writer) is he ftyled great ; a philofophical 
monarch, the moil: dcfpotic, perhaps, who ever exiiled, but 
who has contributed more to the diffolution of fociety, by 
corrupting the principles and morals of all within the 
- fphere of his influence, than any individual of his time. 
See Appendix to Vol. 6, of Anti-Jacobin Review, p. $6$. 



3 6 P) 

anfwer."* Who would not give up the Bible 
for the honor and comfort of being fo nobly 
and philofophically bewildered ? 

Scnfible that the individual infidelity of 
thefe perfons did not conftitute a confpiracy 
againft Chriftianity, without a union and cor- 
refpondence in the attack, the hiftorian has 
furnifhed us with the proofs of fuch a confed- 
eracy, in which their efforts, and thofc of their 
adepts, appear combined and fteadily pointed 
to the accomplishment of their grand object. 
To this object they directed and ftimulated 
each other by a watchword, ftrikingly expreif- 
rve of their rancorous enmity to the Saviour, 
/ criifh the Wretch. But could 
this mean Chrift, and that adorable religion 
preached by him and his apoftles ? What other 
interpretation can we annex to the phrafe in 
the mouth of a man, who, in his intrigues 
againft " the wretch," exclaims, M Could not 
five or fix men of parts, and who rightly un- 
derftood each other, fucceed, after the exam- 
ples of twelve fconndrels, who have already fuc- 
ceeded?" And who thus writes to D'Alembert, 
" Both you and Demilaville mull be well 
pleafed, to fee the contempt into which " the 

* BarruePs Memoirs, Vol. L Chap, k 



and Fjfcas cf liluminifyu 37 

wretch 55 is fallen among the better fort of 
people throughout Europe. They were all 
we wifhed for, or that were neceiTary. We 
never pretended to enlighten the houfe maids, 
and fhoe makers ; we leave them to the apof- 
tles."* The apoftles furely were neither Jefu- 
its nor Janfenifts ; their only crime, in Vol- 
taire's view, doubtlefs was, attachment to their 
mafter and his caufe. 

In the true ftyle of eonfpirators, they had 
alfo their enigmatical language, and fecret ap- 
propriate names. The general term for the 
eonfpirators was Cacouac ; they lay one is a 
good Cacouac, when he can be perfectly de- 
pended on. In their correfpond ence, Frederic 
is called Duluc ; Voltaire, Raton ; D'Alem- 
bert, Protagoras and Bertrand ; Diderot, Pla- 
to or Tamplot. Secrecy appears to have been 
confidered by them as eflential to their fuccefs. 
Their Chief would therefore often remind 
them that in the war they waged, " they were 
to act as eonfpirators, and not as zealots* 
Strike/ 1 he would fay, " hurl the Javelin, but 
hide your hand," 

D 

* JkrniePs Memoirs, Vol. I. Chap- ft 



38 Proofs of the Exiflaice 

Voltaire had long before vented his rage 
againft Chriftianity, and been the officious de- 
fender of every impious publication ; but, a* 
bout 1752, when he returned from Berlin, 
the confpiracy affumed a regular form, and he, 
by his age, reputation, and genius, naturally 
became the chief. * 



* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol I. Chap. 3. 










C H A P. II. 






n iiiurSi 



T^ 1 

XLSTABLISHED in the general pre 
of undermining the Chriilian Edifice, and tl 
obliging it to fall of itfelf, as one powerful 
in of effecting this end, an Encyclopedia 1 
was projected by D'AIembert. and 
to the worl : treaiure of aH 

. * :s and fc 3 in reality, 

defigned to be the emporium of all the 

s and calumnies which had ever been 

ion* This poifoh, how- 

r, was to be conveyed in the moft fecret 

unfufpicious manner, and it was declared, 

tii at all gious articles fhould be con 

y learned and orthodox divines. Pa . 
care was taken in the compilation of the frit 
volume, not to alarm the friends of religion ; 
reserving a clearer exprefiion of their is.. 
ments for fucceeding vs 



4° Proofs of the Exiflei 

Among the many artful means adopted to 
communicate the fecret infection, one was, to 
infinuate error and infidelity, not where it 
would have been expected, bul into thole arti- 
cles deemed the leaft fufceptible of them ; fuch 
as Hiftory, Natural Philofophy, and Chym- 
iflry> 

Another was that of references, by which,, 
after being- prefented with fome religious 
truths, the reader is invited to feck further 
i/ifcriivation in articles of a different caft. 

ftetimes the reference would direct to aa 
epigram, or faseafm. After having treated a 

gious fubjecfc with all poiiible reipecl, it 
would be limply added, See the article P 
dice,QX Superftitiarii xtlcifnu^ 

The following may ferve as a fbecimen of 
the artful ufe of references, in this work, for 

* Mr.„Kaley, in his Syflem of Moral Philofophy, has 
noticed, and very juftiy defcribed, the fubtle arts of modern 
impiety. " Infidelity is now ferved up in every fhape that 
is likely to allure, furprife or beguile the imagination ; in 
a fable., a tale, a novel, a poem, in ■ interfperfed and broken 
tints ° remote and oblique furmifes ; in books of travels, 
of philofophy, of natural hiftory ; in a' word, in any form 
rather than that of a profeffed and regular difquifitioiu ,f 
Paley, Bolton Edit. 1795? p., 302. 

f Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. T. Chap, .^u 



and Effects of Ilii 

undermining religious truth. Under the ar- 
ticle God, you find found fentiments, tog: 
er with a direct and complete proof of his ex~ 
iiience. From this the reader is referred to 
the article Demonjiration. There all direct 
demonstrations of the exiftence of God difap- 
pear ; and we are told, that a fingle infect 
more forcibly proves the being of a God, ti 
any other arguments whatever, But the read- 
er is ftill referred to the article Conniption. 
There it is afferted, that daily experiments 
feem to prove, that " corruption may pro- 
duce animated bodies. 55 The reader is thus 
left to infer, if he pleaies, that the ftrongeit 
proof of the exiftence of a God is -contradict* 
ed by daily experiments, 

Notwithflindijaar all this art and conceal- 
ment, the work met with great oppofition, 
and was for a time unbended. At length, 
however, it was completed, and all the adepts 
were loud in its praifes. The learned were 
duped. The work fold. Various editions were 
pubiifhed, and under the pretence of correct 
ing, each fucceeding edition was more highly 
charged with infidelity.* 

D 2 

* BarrueVs Memoirs, Vol. I. Chap. 4* Note 



4 2 Prcofs of the E 

The Encyclopedia having prepared the way, 
was fucceeded by an attempt to overturn the 
religious orders. This ended in the fuppref- 
fion of many of them, and in the expulfion of 
the Jefuits, in 1764. The artful movements,. 
by which this was eiiecced, are not fuilicient- 
\y interefting to claim a particular detail* 
Some, who appear to have been friendly to 
the Romifh cftablifliment, but not fufficiently 
coniidcring the connection between a church" 
and its clergy, were drawn by thefe fbphifters 
to countenance, and even promote the fupprci'- 
iion ct the religious orders ; and we fee thefe 
confpirators ridiculing, in fecret, the fimplicity 
of their dupes.* 

Mankind were extremely deceived by the 
iniincere profeinons of the confpirators. Noth- 
ing, perhaps, contributed more to their fuccefs< 
than their pretentions to .toleration, reafon, and 
inity. But notwithftancling thefe high, 
founding words, their fecret correfpondence 
betrays the fame fpirit which has fince been 
exhibited in the revolution. Was- it humanity 
which didated to Voltaire his wifh, " to fee 
every Jefuit at the bottom of the ocean, with 
a Janfenift at his neck ?" He was much en- 
gaged to deprive the ecclefiailieal princes of 

* Bat rod's Memoirs, Vol I. Chap, 5, 6, 



and Eft els of Illumini/bi. 4$ 

their poffeflions, and the clergy of their means 
of fupport ; and exerted his influence, with 
Frederic, and- the Duke of Praflin in particu- 
lar, for this end. Writing to Count Argental 
upon this fubjecc, he fays, " Had I but an hun- 
dred thoufand men, Iwell know what I would 
do with them/* Would he then preach toler^ 
ation and humanity ? We may judge from his 
own expreffions what his views were. u It \s 
noble, he writes to Frederic, to feoff at thefe 
Harlequin Bull-givers. I like to cover them 
with ridicule, but I had rather plunder them"* 

Proteftants will perhaps confider the fuppref- 
lion of thefe orders as having no connection 
with the ihterefts of religion ; but they were 
the great props of this caufe as it exifled 
in France ; were aflive in withftanding the 
progrefs of infidelity, and their overthrow was 
undoubtedly, as it was viewed by thefe con- 
fpirators, of great importance to the comple, 
tion of their ultimate defign ; the eftablifhment 
of univerfal infidelity, . 

Wearied with the oppofitlon he met with in 
France, and the eonflant conftraint to which he 
was fubjefted, Voltaire projected the eftablifh* 

* Barrel's Memoirs, Vol, L Chap- io* 



44 Proofs of the Ex'ftence 

merit of a colony of Fhilofophers, at Clevcs, 
under the jurifdi&ion of Frederic, who might 
there, as he expreffes his views, "freely and bold- 
ly fpeak the truth, without fearing minifters, 
priefts, or parliaments." But this, though a 
favorite object with the projector, proved 
abortive. The confpirators were too much 
captivated with the pleafures of Paris, and the 
applaufe they found in the circles of their ad- 
mirers, to be fond of fuch a retirement ; and 
leaft of all, was it eligible, in company with 
Voltaire, whofe more iplendid genius would 
eclipfe his fatellUes.V* 

But a more important attempt, met with 
different fucccefs. The higheft literary hon- 
or in France was a feat in the French Acad- 
emy. This inflitution, deiigned to be both 
a ftimulus, and reward to literary merit, had 
enjoyed the fpecial favor and proteftion of the 
kings of France ; and none but men of emi- 
nence in fome branch of literature, and who 
were viewed as friendly to morals and relig- 
ion, had been admitted as members. The 
artful D'Alernbert concealed his infidelity un- 
til he had gained his feat. Voltaire was for 
a long time unable to gain admiliion, and 

* Barrud's Memoirs, Vol. L Chap. 7, 



and Effuls of Wuminijm. 4 5 

at length only facceed'ed by means of high 
protection, and that low hypocrify which, 
he recommended to Lis difciples.. 

The confpirators juffly efti mated the ad- 
vantages which would refult to their grand 
object, by removing the difqualifying bar of 
infidelity, and annexing to philofophifm the 

pe&ability and influence of fuch an inftitu- 
tion. Upon Voltaire and D'Alemhert lay the 
talk, of converting thefe dignified feats of 
fcience into the haunts of Atheifm. We may 
judge of their fuccefs, from the following an- 
ecdote. Mr. Beauzet, a. member of the acad- 
emy, refpectable for his piety, when afked 

v he could ever have been affociated with 
fuch notorious unbelievers ? " The very fame 
queftion," laid he, " I put to D'Alembert. At 
one of the fittings, feeing that I was nearly the 

f erf on who believed in Qod^ I afked him, how 
he poiTibly could ever have thought of me for 
a member, when he knew r that my fentiments 
and opinions differed io widely from thofe of 
his brethren ? D'Alembert, without heiltation, 
anfwered, " We were in want of a Ilcilful 
grammarian, and among our party, not one 
had made himfelf a reputation in that line.' 3 
It is almoft needlefs to remark, that the re- 
wards ofliterary merit were henceforth tranf?.. 



46 Proofs of the E: 

ferred to the advocates of impiety, while re- 
proach and infamy were profufely caft upon 
thofe who efpoufed the caufe of truth.* 

Their fuccefs in fceuring the Academy to 
themfeJves, prepared the way for that variety 
of Anti-Chrifcian writings, which of late have 
•i fo wi( reminated, and which have 

been pointed againll religion. Aftonifhing 
efforts were made to weaken the evidences of 
the Chriftian hiftory. The furface of the 
■t a new ftfrvey, and its bowels 
:plored, not to promote the interefls of 
literature, which was the oflenfible objecl, nor 
to obtain the pious pleafure which the good 
o feels in contemplating the works of the 
..tcr ; but,. 

" Some drill and I 

The folid earth, and from the ftrata H 
Extrafi a regifter, by which we learn 
That lie who mide it and reveal'd its date 
To Mofes, was miftalcen in its ase." 

Yet then, as now, they who were alarmed by 
thefe Anti-Chriftian theories, and gave warn- 
ing of the danger, were held up to the public 
as weakly timid, « For what," it was ■ impu- 

* Bafruel's Memoirs, Vol. I. Chap. 8, . 



and Effects of IllummVm* 47 

xtently aiked, " have pliilofophical treatifes to 
do with religion ?" 

But while Voltaire faw the expediency, of 
■what he calls, " feme fcrious work;" fome pub- 
lication which fhould have the femblance of 
reafon and philofophy, the weapon on which 
he principally depended, was ridicule. Deifts 
have long found this their befl mode of at- 
tack ; but the genius of Voltaire was pecu- 
liarly fruitful in anecdotes, jefts, andfarcafms. 
■" I only afk," he writes to D'Alembert, " five 
or fix witticifms a day, that would fuffice. 
It (meaning " the wretch") would not get 
the better of them. Laugh Democritus, make 
me laugh, and the fages fhall carry the day.'' 

But not content with engroffing literary hon- 
ors, the confpirators condefcended, at length, 
to enlighten thofe whom they had contemptu- 
oufly called the home maids and fiioe makers. 
Writings, in every form and fiiape, calculated 
to excite licentious defires, to deprave the 
moral taiie, to communicate the infeftion of 
infidelity, and exhibit religion in a ridiculous 
view, were crowded upon the public. 

Upon the commencement of the revolution , 
k appeared, by the confeflion of Le Roy, who 



43 Proofs of the Exflen:e 

Jhad been their fecretary, that a fociety, which 
had exifted for a considerable time, holding 
their meetings at the Hotel de Holbach, at 
Paris, under the name of Economifts, was 
compofed of thefe confpirators and their prin- 
cipal adepts ; and who, while profeffedly en- 
gaged in promoting economy, agriculture, and 
the ufeful arts, were more actively promoting 
,the caufe of infidelity. A multitude of writ- 
ers were employed to prepare fuitable publica- 
tions. Thefe, previous to their .going to the 
prefs, were fubjected to the infpection of the 
ibciety, whofe care it was to charge them with 
a due proportion of the poifonous leaven 
they were defigned to diffeminate. To add 
refpectability to thefe writings, and conceal 
the author, the fociety appointed under what 
title they fhould be publiihed. For inftance, 
"Chrijlianity Unveiled" was attributed to Bou- 
langer, after his death, but was the work of 
Demilaville. 

Elegant editions of thefe works were firft 
printed to defray the expenfe, and then an im- 
menfe number on the pooreft paper. Thefe 
latter, were diftributed in bales, free of coft, or 
at a very low price, to hawkers and pedlars, 
who would difperfe them through the coun- 
try, and left any ihould efcape the infection, 



and Effects of lilumlmfm. 49 

clubs were formed, and perfons hired to read 
them to fuch as were ii:a;ie to read. 

Mr. Bertin, one of the French miniflry, de- 
clares, that in his excursions into the country, 
he found the pedlars loaded with the writings 
of Voltaire, Diderot, and other philofophifts ; 
and that, queftioning them how the country 
people could find money for fuch dear works, 
their conftant anfwer was, " We have them 
at a much cheaper rate than Prayer Boohs ; \vc 
may fell them at ten fols (5^/.) a volume, and 
have a pretty profit into the bargain ; and 
many of them owned that thefe books coil 
them nothing." 

But the queftion in which we are principal- 
ly intcrefted is, whether it was the defign of 
thefe numerous publications to affect any thing 
more than th^t deformed excrefcence of Chrift- 
ianity, popery ? If it has not been made evi- 
dent that thefe writings were aimed, not at 
the abufes of Chriftianity, but at Chriftianity 
iifeif, a view of the leading fentiments in thefe 
publications, mud remove every doubt. 

Freret tells us exprefsly, that, c: The God of 
the Jews, and of the Chriftians, is but a phan- 
tom and chimera j" and that, " all ideas of 



50 Proofs cf the E 

juftice and injuftice, of virtue and vice, are ar- 
bitrary, and dependent on cuftom." 

The author of " Good Ssnfe" a work which 
D'Alembcrt wifhed to fee abridged, that it 
might be fold for five pence to the poor and ig- 
norant, teaches, " That the wonders of nature, 
ib far from befpeaking a God, are but the ne- 
ceffary effects of matter, prodigioufly diverfi- 
iicd, and that the foul is a chimera." 

The author of the " Doubts" tells mankind, 
" That they cannot know whether a God 
really exifts, or whether there exifts the fmall- 
ell difference between virtue and vice."* 

Helvetius informs the fair fex, " That mod- 
is only an invention of refined voluptu- 
oufnefs." He teaches children, " That the 
commandment of loving their parents, is more 
the work of education than nature ;" and 
the married couple, " That the law which 
condemns to live together, becomes barbarous 
and cruel on the day they ceafe to love each 
other. 53 

The author of " Chrijllanlty Unveiled" has 
tlv* remark, " The Bible fays, the fear of the 
Lord is the beginning of wifdom. I think it 
Lcthei the beginning of folly." 



On. 51 

But I fliall only add to this detail. John Mef- 
lier's laji will, in which he is reprefentcd " on 
his death bed, imploring forgivenefs of his 
God for having taught Chriftianity ;V a work, 
of which Voltaire urges D'AIembert to print 
and diftribute four or five thoufand copies ; 
complaining " that there were not fo many ih 
all Paris, as he himfelf had diftributed through- 
out the mountains of Switzerland."* 

The confpirators appear to have been aware 
of the importance of youth, and the advan- 
tage to be derived to their cauie, by an e 
impreffion on the young mind. D'AIcmbert, 
lefs qualified to promote the views of the con- 
fpirators by his pen, attended more particular- 
ly to providing inftructors. Care was tal 
that he fhould receive early notice of vacant 
profeiTbriLips in colleges 

that they might be filled agreeably to their 
wifhes. It will be readily conceived t 
pils of rank, wealth, and talents, W( 
fpecial attention. D'AIembert was the open 
protector of all fuch, who vifited Paris. The 
extenfive correfpondence of Voltaire, and 
eclat of his genius, gave him a vaft opportu- 
nity of infecting youth, even in foreign courts. 

* Bamxel-s Mexooir^ Vol. L Chip. 9, : 3 i Nc 



5 ^ Proofs of the Exijtcnce 

At that tune the court of Parma was feek- 
Jng men worthy to prefide over the education 
of the young infant. The account which Vol- 

•e gave of the refult of that bufinefs, will 
abundantly explain the views of the conspira- 
tors in this point. Writing to D'Alembert, 
lie fays, " It appears to me that the Parmefan 
child will be well furroundcd. He will have 
a Condilhac and a de Leire. If with all that he 

iwerful indeed "* 

Among the innumerable attempts of thefe 
• plotting philofophifts, the following curi- 
of zeal is related of Diderot and 
D'Alembert. They frequently met in the 
e houfes at Parish to difcufs religious .quef- 
ls, before the idle Parifians. In thefe dif- 
s Diderot would appear in his proper 
character of an infidel, D'Alembert affuming 
that of an advocate for religion ; and appa- 
rently efpoufing its caufe with great warmth, 
until driven by the victorious infidel from ev- 
ery ground of defence, he would retreat, to 
appearance chagrined, and regretting that his 
religion afforded no better arguments for its 
defence. The impreillon which fuch a fcene 
mult leave upon the minds of thole prefent, 

* Barrel's Memoirs, Vol. L Chap*. \u 



and Effefls of 111:. 






. s j> 



who were ignorant of the deception, need not 
be told.* 

Their defire to " crujh the wretch" fi 
€d alfo to thefe confpirators the idea of re- 
building the temple at Jerufalem, with a v 
of defeating the prediftions of Chrift, and the 
prophet Ddniel. This had been long fince at- 
tempted by Julian the apellate, with the fame 
defign, when flames and balls of fire burfting 
from the foundations, and repeatedly deftroy- 
ing the workmen, compelled him to defift 
from his purpofe.f This rendered D'Alem- 
bert and Voltaire more defirous of depriving 
Scripture prophecy of fuch a glorious attefta- 
tion to its truth. With this view, application 
was made both to Frederic and the Emprefs 
of Ruffia, to engage them to ufe their influ- 



E 2 



* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. I. Chap. 1 1 > 

t This miracle is recorded by many witnefTes, and 
more particularly by Ammianus Marceliinus, a pagan 
author, and friend of Julian, The truth of this miracle is 
denied, indeed, by Bafnage ; but its authenticity appears 
to be fully eftablifhed in a learned diifertation upon the 
fubject, by Dr. Warburton, in which the objections of 
Bafnage are particularly examined, and refuted. 



54 Proofs of the Exijltnce 

ence with, the Turkifh powers, to whofe ju- 
rifdiction Jerufalem pertained, to promote 
the defign ; but the fear of lofing many 
wealthy Jews, whom they found profitable 
fubje&s, and who, in that cafe, would have 
repaired to their new temple, prevented the 
attempt.* 

To reconcile many things, of a very different 
afpect in the conduct and writings of thefe 
men, with the purpofes here attributed to 
them, it is neceffary the reader fhould be in- 
formed, that all thefe defigns were induftri- 
oufly concealed under a covert of hypocrify. 
Voltaire had completely convinced them of 
the utility of his favorite maxim, " ftrike, 
but hide yoar hand." Their real views were 
obvious, indeed, to the more difcerning, but 
many were duped by what D'Alembert calls, 
" his vows to religion" and Voltaire boafts much 
of the fuccefs of his mafter ftroke of policy, 
" in ere&in.g a church, and conftantly receiv* 
ing communion."! 



* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol, L Chap, lit f li&fi 



and Effects of Ulumimfnu $ j 



C H A P. III. 



Trcgrefs of the Con/piracy ; the Triumph, arid Death 
of the Chiefs.. 

POWERFUL muff have been the 
operation of fuch abilities, fubtlety, and zeal. 
With Frederic of Pruffia, Voltaire claffes, in 
the number of his adepts, jofeph II, emperor 
of Germany, Catharine II, emprefs of Ruffia, 
Chriftiern VII, king of Denmark, Guftavus 
III, king of Sweden, Ulrica, queen of Swe- 
den, and Poniatowfki, king of Poland. 

Among the princes and princeffes, Frederic, 
landgrave of Heffe CafTel, the Duke of Brunf- 
wick, Lois Eugene, duke of Wirtemberg, and 
Lois, prince of Wirtemberg, Charles Theo- 
dora, elector palatine, the princefs Anhault 
Zerbft, and Wilhelmina, margravine of Bari* 
eth, are alfo ranked with the initiated.* 

* That thefe perfonages were in the habits of a friendly 
correspondency with Voltaire, were captivated with hii 



56 Proofs of the Exijlcncc 

A great part of the miniftry, the no* 
blefs, and higher clafs of citizens in France, 
and, (excepting the clergy, who for the moft 
part remained firm in the caufe of religion) the 
literati, not of France only, but of Europe 
in general, appear to have been enfnared with 
this fafcinating philofophy. Nor was it con- 
fined to men of fcience. Voltaire boafts, 
" That there was not a Chrifrian to be found 
from Geneva to Bern ; that Germany gave 
him great hopes ; Ruflia ftill greater, and that 
in Spain as well as Italy a great revolution was 
operating in ideas. " 

It was thefe prcfpe&s of fuccefs, probably, 
which led him to utter that moft blafphemous 
prediction, " That in twenty years ?nore, God 
*w ill be in a pretty plight"* 

The amazing influence of thefe writings is 
to be found, not in their fuperior excellence of 

abilities, and charmed with the pleating* founds of reafon 
and philofophy, is undoubted ; but that they wifhed the 
deftrucHon of religion, feparate from the abufes of pope- 
ry, does not appear, unlefs from the boaftings of the con- 
fpirators. Frederic, Chriftiern of Denmark, the land- 
grave of Heffe, Wilhelmina of Barieth, if nc more, are 
however to be excepted from this remark. Barruel's 
Memoirs, Vol..!. Chap. 12 and 13. 

* IBarruePs Memoirs; Vol. I* Chap. i8 t 



and Effects of ffluniinvfm. 

any kind, but in the magic founds of rcafon 
and philcfophy. The hiftorian juftly re- 
marks, that had Voltaire and D'Alembert 
called themfelves enemies of Chriftianity, they 
would have been the execration of Europe. 
But while only calling themfelves philofo- 
phers, they are milfaken for fuch. Voltaire, 
by his fuperior abilities, had gained fuch ai- 
eendency in the literary world, that whatever 
he was pleafed to call philofophy, became cur- 
rent with all whofe abject minds depended on 
the opinions of others ; and Voltaire was very 
liberal in applying the term to whatever was 
impious. He boafts of many philofophers in 
Paris behind the counter.* What ! fiiall every 

* If Voltaire's judgment was not entirely perveited by 
his enmity to religion, whenever he reflected upon his curi- 
ous herd of philofophers, he mud have been diverted 
with the ridiculous idea. A man may, indeed, be igno- 
rant of philofophy, and the liberal arts, and yet be 
highly refpe&able, while his profeffional employment 
does not render an acquaintance with thefe fubjects ne- 
ceflary. But for fuch a man to claim the title of phi- 
lofopher, and to claim it fimply upon the foundation of 
his ridiculing that holy religion as abfurd, which a New- 
ton, a Locke, an Addifon, a Jones, and fome of the 
greateft men of every age have believed and defended; 
if any thing is a proper object of diiguft, it is fuch a 
wretched compound of pride and ignorance. Of fuch 
philofophers it is emphatically true, " That profeJJIng them* 
felves to h wife, tkey become fodsP 



58 Proofs of the Exiflence 

wanton coquette ; fhall every hufband or wife 
who icofls at conjugal fidelity ; fhall every fon, 
who denies the authority of a parent ; the 
courtier deftitute of morals, and the man who 
is a Have to his paffions j fhall thefe be ftyled 
philofophers : * 

As a ufeful comment on the foregoing ex- 
Iiibition of fuccefsful wickednefs, we are now 
called to witnefs the clofing fcene of the 
tragic actors. 

I beg leave here to remark for myfelf, that 
I feel a fenfible concern in republishing this 
fcene, not to offend againfi that reverence 
which becomesan imperfect creature, intracing 
the awful footfteps of Jehovah ; nor would I 
willingly become acceffary in promoting an 
undue ufe of providential difpenfations. Ever 
odious to me is the practice of fupporting cur 
particular opinions and party diftinftions, by 
a bold and unwarranted application of God's 
high and myfterious providence ; and far am 
I from wiihing to encourage this fentiment, 
that men will receive, in this world, according 
to their works ; but, that many events in 
providence may be, and ought to be confid- 
ered, as confirmations of revealed truth, and 

* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. I, Chap. 19. 



and Effects of lllumlnlfiiu 59. 

that God is fometimes to be known by the j:. 
merits which he executes^ none, I prefume, who 
admit the truth of revelation, will deny. 

The confpiracy exhibited an inftance un- 
paralleled in the hiftory of man. In Voltaire 
we behold, not fimply an unbeliever, a man 
hurried into fmful indulgences by the impulfe 
of violent appetites, but the bold, active, de- 
termined enemy of God and religion, deliber- 
ately devoting his uncommon abilities to the 
difhonor of the giver, and the reduction of 
his fellow creatures from their allegiance to 
their Maker. Did not this mifchief, this com- 
municated poifon feem to require a powerful 
antidote ? And may we not imagine ccmpaf- 
Jion as imploring the Father of his creatures, 
to afford fome extraordinary means for de- 
livering the minds of men from the violence 
they had fuffered, by the perverfion of fuch 
uncommon talents r 

Such is the tendency of the following in- 
terefting fcene. Let the world draw near and 
receive inftruction ! Let mankind duly efti- 
mate the boafted powers of human reafon, 
and the fruits of that philofophy, which 
proudly rejects the offered comforts of the 
gofpel ! 



60 Proofs of the Exljlentt 

The French government had teftiiicd their 
difapprobation of Voltaire's writings, by pro- 
hibiting his vifiting Paris. His numerous 
partifans, at length, fucceed in procuring a 
fufpenfion of this fentence ; and their chief, 
now in the eighty fourth year of his age, is 
once more permitted to make his appearance 
at the capital. The academies and theatres 
confer on him their richeft honors ; and the 
adepts, in his triumph, celebrate their own. 
So fenfibly did he enjoy this adulation, that he 
exclaimed, " You then wifh to make me expire 
with glory." But whatever was their defignj 
the will of Providence was very different from 
this ; for, in the midft of his triumphs, he was 
feized with a violent hemorrhage,* and Ills 
confeience was alarmed with the more infup- 
portable terrors of the Almighty. In the firft 
part of his ficknefs, he applied to a Romifli 
prieft, and gave in a declaration of his re- 
pentance ; but the fophifters interfered, and 
prevented its being completed according to 
the ritual of that church. Remorfe and rao;e 
filled the remainder of his wretched days j 
now fupplicating, and now blafpheming that 
Saviour whom he had fworn to crujh ; and in 
plaintive accents he would cry out, " Oh 

* A violent flax of blood. 



andEffcfts of Illumiwfm. Ci 

Chrift ! Oh Jefus Chrift I" And then com- 
plain that he was abandoned by God and 
man. The hand which had traced the fen- 
tence of an impious, revelling king, feerned 
to trace before his eyes, " Crvjh then, do crujfh 
the wretch" 

" Begone" he would exclaim to the con- 
fpirators who approached him, " It is yen who 
have brought me to my prefent Jiate, and what a 
wretched glory have you procured me /" His phy- 
ficians and attendants were compelled, by the 
horrors of the fcene, to retire. Mr. Tron- 
chin, his principal phyfician, declared, that 
" the furies of Arejles could give but a faint idea of 
thofe of Voltaire" 

Thus died, on the 30th of May, 1778, three 
months after his firft feizure, worn out by 
his own fury, rather than by difeafe and the 
decay of years, the moft malignant conspir- 
ator againft Chriftianity that had lived fince 
the time of the apoftles.* 

* The above facts are grounded on juridical minutes, de- 
pofited at Paris, in the hands of Monf. Momet, Notary- 
Public, and on the teftimony of the celebrated Mr. Tron- 
chin. This teftimony is confirmed by a letter from M. 
De Luc, fent to Abbe Barruel, after the appearance of 
the firft volume of thefe Memoirs, and which may be 
feen in the appendix to the third volume. 



C'2 Proofs cf the Exijlence 

After the death of Voltaire, D'Alembert 
conducted the affairs of the confpiracy, of 
which he was proclaimed chief. He died 
November 1783, five years after his patron ; 
and from what can be collected, it appears, 
that he derived no better comforts from his 
boafted philofophy. Condorcet undertook to 
render him inacceffible to all who would wil- 
lingly declare the truth, and in particular, 
violently excluded the Rector of St. Ger- 
main's, who prefented himfelf in the quality 
of a paftor ; yet when firft relating the circum- 
itances of his death, he hefitated not to add, 
" Had I not been there he would have fiinched 

* f4 The adept, Grim, writing an account 
of his death to Frederic, fays, " That ficknefs 
had greatly weakened D'Alembert's mind in 
his laft moments." 

Diderot in his laft ficknefs, upon being 
faithfully admoniihed of his danger by 3 
young man who attended him, melted into 
tears ; applied to a clergyman, Mr. De Ter- 
fac, and was preparing a recantation of his 
v errors, when his fituation was difcovered by 
Ihe fophifters. With much difficulty they 
perfuadecl him that a country air woulcl 

f IJiftoricai Dictionary, article BAlemb: 



and Effefts of llluminifiiu 63 

relieve him. The wretches concealed his de- 
parture, and fupported him with tliefe delu- 
live hopes, when they knew his laft hoffr was 
fail approaching. They watched him till they 
had feen him expire, and then reprefented that 
he died in all his atheifm, without any figns 
of remorfe. 

Frederic alone, fucceeded in perfuading 
himfelfj that death was an everlafling fleep.* 

f Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. I, Chap. iS. 




64 Proofs of the Exifience 



CHAR IV. 



OCCULT MASONRY* 



jDY Occult Mafonry is here to be un- 
derftood thofe Lodges of Free Mafons, which, 
leaving their original fimple inftitutions, in- 
troduced fubjedts and practices which had no 
connexion with Mafonry, and of which the 
lodgeswhichremainedpure, had noknowiedge* 

* The authorities on which Dr. Robifon chiefly relies, 
to fupport his narrative (beudes the original writings) art, 
i Groffe Abftcht des Illuminaten Ordens. 

2 Nachtrages (3) denfelben. 

3 Weifhaupt's improved fyftem. 

4 Sytem des Ilium. Ordens aus dem Original 
Schriften gezogen. Rob. p. 162. 

Rev. Dr. J. Erfkine, in a letter to a correfpondent in 
New England, dated June 13, 1801, adds his teftimony 
to the authenticity of the books, and moil alarming facts 
to which Dr. Robifon refers ; and adds, " I am willing 
you mould make what ufc cf my letter you may think 
proper," [Manufcript Letter,} 



and Effcas of lllumlnifnu 65 

To exhibit a brief view of what may be 
collefted of importance rcfpefting thefe adul- 
terated Lodges, from Robifon's Proofs and 
Barruel's Memoirs, is the defign of this chap- 
ter. Such a view is a necefiary introduction 
to the hiftory of Illuminifm, and its connection 
with the Mafonic orders. 

Dr. Robifon obferves, that in the early part 
of his life he commenced an acquaintance with 
Mafonry, which he confidered as affording a 
pretext for fpending an hour or two in decent 
conviviality. That, though he had been fuc- 
eefsful in his mafonic career, and attained 
fome diflinguiihed degrees, yet he was in- 
duced to fufpend his intercourfe with the 
lodges, viewing Mafonry as an unprofitable 
amufement, and in a degree inconfiftent with 
the more ferious duties of life. That while 
in this ftate of indifference refpefting Free 
Mafonry, his attention was awakened, and 
his curiofity excited by fome new circumftan- 
ces, particularly by what he met with in a 
German work, called Religions Begebenheiten, 
i. e. Religious Occurrences, a periodical work, 
publifhed by Profefibr Kceefter of Gieilen, 
which convinced him that Mafonry was ap- 
plied to purpofes of which he had been wholly 
ignorant. That he found the lodges the 
* 2 



66 Proofs of the Exiflence 

haunts of many projectors in religion and 
politics, indirect oppofition to that eftablifhed 
rule in Mafonry, " That nothing of religion or 
politics Jhall ever be introduced into the lodges" 
and that purfuing the fubject, he found aflb- 
ciations rifing out of thefe abufes, deftrucftive 
of religion and fociety. In this work he pro- 
feffes the benevolent defi<m of teaching, man- 
kind the danger refultino; from thefe combi- 
nations ; and left the freedom with which he 
expofes thefe perverted lodges, fhould be con- 
fidered as inconfiftent with his mafonic en- 
gagements, he vindicates himfeif by obferv- 
ing, that he has not divulged the fecrets of 
original Mafonry, and that he is under no ob- 
ligations to conceal its abufes, and new in- 
vented degrees. * 

D 

Abbe Barruel introduces the fubjecfl of 
Mafonry by bearing a moft honorable tefti- 
mony of many lodges, in England in particu- 
lar, whofe members he conliders as ignorant 

* Introduction to Robifbn's Proofs. Dr. Roblfon, m 
a letter to a correfpondent in America, dated Sept. 23, 
1800, writes, that fince the publication of his book, he 
has " greatly increafed the body of his evidence, by 
means of many German publications ;" but that his ill 
health and official duties, prevent his arranging and pub- 
lishing this evidence. 



and Effeds of tlluminifin* 67 

of the real objed of the inftitution, which he 
pronounces to be radically evil. In fupport 
of this idea he attempts to prove> that the 
words liberty and equality ', which are common 1 
to all lodges, imply, not limply that Mafonic 
Fraternity of which they are ufually confldered 
as expreffive, but what they have been ex- 
plained to intend in France, during the late 
revolution. A liberty or fredom from all re- 
ligious and moral obligation j an equality fub-- 
verfive of all focial order and fubordination. 

It cannot be expe&ed that his obfervations 
on this fubjeft Ihould be introduced here, as 
they have no very intimate connection with 
the objed of our prefent inquiry j but they 
who wifli to become more fully acquainted 
with his laborious review and explanation of 
mafonic myfteries, may recur to the ninth and 
fucceeding chapters in the fecond volume of 
his Memoirs. He was himfelf a Mafon \ and 
at the fame time not fubjeft to the cuftomary 
bonds of fecrecy. To explain what is fo un- 
ufual, he relates, That at the time of his ad- 
million, Mafonry had become fo frequent in 
France, that the fecret was lefs guarded ; that 
upon a mafonic occafion, where all the com- 
pany, except himfelf, w r ere Mafons, and gen- 
erally his acquaintance and intimate friends^ 



oS Proofs of the Exijience 

be was urged to join them, and, in a mannef, 
forced with them into the lodge ; but, ftill re- 
filling the propofed oath with great refolution, 
his firmnefs, it was faid, proved him a Mafon, 
and he was accordingly received with great 
applaufes, and at that time advanced to the 
degree of Mailer. This gave him peculiar 
advantages for treating this fubjecl, and he 
appears not to have made a difhonorable ufe 
of the privilege.* 

Whatever doubts may be entertained of His- 
general theory^ his inveftigation affords in- 
dubitable proofs of the accommodating nature 
of mafonic myfteries, and their pliancy to all 
the purpofes of cabal and intrigue. Robifon's 
Proofs forcibly imprefs the fame idea. In 
England the lodge afforded a retreat to the ad- 
herents of the Stuarts, and was a covert for 
their meetings. In France it was made fub- 
fervient to the views of the Britifh Pretender. 
In the lodge of the Mag on Parfait is the follow- 
ing device : " A lion wounded by an arrow, 
and efacped from the flake to which he had 
been bound, with the broken rope ftill about 
his neck, is reprefented lying at the mouth 
of a cave, and occupied with mathematical 

f Barruel's Memoirs, Vol II. p. 152, 155. 



and EffeBs of lilummjm. 69 

instruments, which are lying near him. A 
broken crown lies at the foot of the flake." 
There can be little doubt but that this em- 
blem alludes to the dethronement, the captivi- 
ty, the efcape, and afylum of James II, and 
his hopes of reftoration by the help of the 
loyal brethren. Great ufe was alfo made of 
Mafonry by the Church of Rome, for fecuring 
and extending her influence on tire laymen o£ 
rank and fortune. * 

But this prominent feature of Mafonry, its 
accommodating nature, will more readily be 
perceived when we come to notice its eafy 
coalefcence with the defigns of the Illuixunees. 

The abufes of Mafonry, which we are now 
tracing, and which came to their full growth 
in the Illuminated lodges, appear to have orig- 
inated in a natural fpirit of inquiry, ftruggling 
with the reftraints which the French govern- 
ment formerly impofed on a free difcuffion 
of religion and politics. Under the covert of 
a lodge, they found themfelves liberated from 
a painful reftraint, and experienced the pleaf- 
ure of communicating fentiments in fafety, 
which, in another place, would have expofed 
them to danger. 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 2§ 7 31. 



To Proofs of the Exlflcnce 

We need not be told that even innocent in- 
dulgencies are liable to degenerate into the 
moft pernicious habits. This truth was forci- 
bly exemplified in the French lodges. A 
channel being once opened by which the heart 
could give vent to its feelings, the fmall ftream 
foon became a torrent, affording a paflage to 
every abfurd, fceptical, and diforganizing idea, 
and which, in its final progrcfs, not only de- 
molifhed the fuperftructures which fuperfli- 
tion and defpotifm had raifed, but threatened 
to undermine the foundations of religion and* 
focietv. 

4 

The pliant forms of Mafonry were eafily 
wrought into a compliance with the new 
views of the Mafons. New explanations were 
given, and new degrees invented, which, 
while they gave pleafure by the air of myftery 
attending them, ferved as a veil to conceal 
from the young adfept, a full view of the ob- 
ject towards which he was led. The veil was 
gradually removed, as his exercifed organs 
were ftrengthened to endure the difcovery. 

We find a ftriking inftance of the new ex- 
planations given to ancient fymbols, in the 
degrees of Chevaliers de P Orient ^ and Chevaliers 
de FAigle^ which were once explained as tyjv 



aatd Effefls of Illumhiifm. 72 

ical of the life and immortality brought to 
light by the gofpel ; but a more modern ex- 
planation reprefents the whole hiftory and 
peculiar do&rines of the gofpel, as being typical 
-of the .final triumph of reafon and philofophy 
.over error. 

To meet the new views of the Mafons,anew 
Series of degrees was added to the lift, viz, 
the Novice 1 the Elu de la Verite, and the Sublime 
Philofophe. A lively imagination would be 
gratified by tracing thefe curious allegories ; 
but the reader muft be Satisfied with one as a 
fample ; that of the Chevalier de Soleil, which 
was an early addition to the mafonic degrees. 
I have the rather chofen this inftance, as here 
Robifon and Barruel appear not to harmonize 
in their relation. This apparent disagreement, 
however, vaniflies upon a clofer infpection, 
which will Ihew us that they defcribe differ- 
ent parts of the fame degree. 

Robifon confines himfelf to the introducto- 
ry formula, in which we are to obferve, that 
the Tres Venerable is Adam ; the Senior War- 
den is Truth ; and all the Brethren are Chil- 
dren of Truth. In the procefs of reception, 
brother Truth is afked, What is the hour ? 
sKe informs father Adam, that among men it 



J2 Proofs of the Exijlence 

is the hour of darknefs, but that it is mid-day 
in the lodge. The candidate is afked, Why- 
he has knocked at the door, and what is be- 
come of the eight companions ? He fays, that 
the world is in darknefs, and his companions 
and he have loft each other ; that Hefperus, 
the ftar of Europe, is obfcured by clouds of 
incenfe, offered up by fuperftition to defpots, 
who have made themfelves gods, and have 
retired into the inmoft receffes of their palaces, 
that they may not be recognized to be men, 
while their priefts are deceiving the people, 
and caufmg them to w r orfhip thefe divinities.* 

Barruel's account of this degree, contains an 
explanation of the implements which the new- 
ly received brother finds in the lodge, and the 
inftrucUons there given him. Apart of thefe 
inftructions, which fucceed the foregoing in- 
troductory explanations, follow. 

" By the Bible you are to underftand, that 
you are to acknowledge no other law than 
that of Adam, the law that the Almighty en- 
grayed on his heart, and that is what is called 
the law of nature. The campafs recals to your 
mind, that God is the central point of every 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 33, 35, 



and Ejfcds of lUuminifiu 73 

thing, from which every thing is equally dis- 
tant, and to which every thing is equally near* 
By thcfquare we learn, that God has made 
every thing equal ; and by the Cubic f one, that 
all your actions are equal with rejpecl to the fove* 
reign good J 11 

The more eiTential part of this difcourfe is 
that which brother Veritas (or Truth) gives 
of the degree of the Elect. Among others is 
the following paiTage : " If you aik me what 
are the neceilary qualities to enable a Mafon to 
arrive at the center of real perfection, I anfwer, 
that to attain it, he mail have crufhed the 
head of the ferpent of worldly ignorance, and 
have caft eft thofe prejudices of youth concern- 
ing the rnyileries of the predominant religion 
of his native country. All religious worfhip be- 
only invented in hopes of acquiring power, and to 
gain precedency among men ; and by a floih which 
covets, under the falfe pretence of piety ^ its neighbor's 
riches. This, my dear brother, is what you 
have to combat ; fuch is the monfter you have 
to crufii under the emblem of the ferpent. It 
is a faithful reprefeniation of thai which the igno- 
rant vulgar adore 1 under the name of religion?** 
Such doctrines need no comment. 



* BarruePs Memoirs, Vol. II. p, iffj 



74 Proofs of the Exigence 

With thefe new degrees and explanations, 
the French lodges appear to have undergone 
fome new modifications with refpcct to their 
connection and correfpondence with each oth- 
er. The BienfaifmW, at Lyons, rofe into high 
reputation. This lodge feems to have taken 
the lead in the diforganizing fentiments of the 
day, and was acknowledged as a parent lodge 
by feveral foreign focieties. But the moft dif- 
tinguiflied, was the Grand Orient ;, at Paris. This 
may be confidered, rather as a Mafcnk Parlia- 
menii compofed of delegates from all the prin- 
cipal lodges, and in which tnafonic concerns 
were ultimately determined. In 1782 this fo- 
ciety had under its direction 266 improved 
lodges ; the whole united under the Duke of 
Orleans as Grand Mailer, at leaft apparently, 
but really guided by the moft profound adepts, 
who made ufe of his intereft and influence to 
promote their views, and then refigned him to 
that deftruction, which was pronounced juft, 
by the unanimous vote of mankind. # 

While the lodges in France were palling 
this metamorphofis, thpfe in Germany retain- 
ed their original, iimple conftitutions, which 

* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. II. p. 239 ; and Robifon's 

fs,p, 37, 48, 



75 

they firft received from id, in 171 6. It 

is remarkable that the Germans had been lopg 
accuftomed to the word, thsjign^ and t 
of the Mafons ; and there are extant, and in 
force, borough laws, enjoining the mailers of 
Mafons to give employment to journeymen 
who had the proper word and Ago. But 
fir ft German lodge, was eftablifhed at Co- 
logne, in the year abovementioned. 

The Germans, always fond of the 1 
j had attributed ftrange powers to 
ry, and been feeking, with their cbaracterlitic 
patience, the power of tranfrnutiRg metals, of 
railing ghofts, and other wonderful fecrets 
which they imagined were concealed in ma- 
fonic myfreries. This difpofition had render- 
ed them the dupes of Kunde, jchnfor 
and other adventurers who found their 
vantages in German credul 

But about the year 1757, an entire revolu- 
tion took place. Some French officers, then 
rending at Berlin, undertook to communicate 
to the Germans their refinements in Mafonry. 
They could not refill the enchantment of 
ribbands and ftars with which the French had 
decorated .the order. A Mr. Rofa, a French 
commiflary, brought from Paris a complete 



Proofs of the Exiftence 

waggon load of mafonic ornaments, which 
were all diftributed before it had reached Ber- 
lin, and he was obliged to order another to\ 
furnifh the lodges of that city. The mafonic 
fpirit was revived throughout Germany : All 
: eager to hear and learn. New degrees 
; invented, and Mafonry underwent a gen- 
eral revolution. All proclaiming the excel- 
lencies of Mafonry ; while not one could tell 
in what its excellency confifted ; their zeal 
tat ferved to increafe their confufion and difc 
di der. 



Thofe who believed that mafonic myfteries 
concealed the wonderful powers of magic and 

alchymy. er — ; v ;, g^ &£& zea ] 5 i n c h a fe Of 

the :ury phantom; and freih adventurers ap- 

who 5 in their turn, railed and difap- 

:ed the hopes of their admirers. Happy 

•would it have beeii 5 had no worfe confequen- 

ces enlued than the wafte of their time and 

money in the purfuit of thefe fooleries ; but 

:Ii milructors, together with their 

new forms and degrees, had communicated 

new notions, refpecting governn i relig-. 

ion, and introduced the a J 5 U ~ 

ing on thefe fubjech in the lodges. A clofe 

neftion was formed between the French 

md fome cf the German, lodges, and • 



and Effects cf Mlitminifm. 77 

rner were not unwilling to communicate their 
new difcoveries. Philofophically illuminated, 
the German adepts began to difcern, that re- 
ligion was the flavery of the free born mind ; 
that reafon was the only fafe guide, and the 
only deity whom mankind ought to worfhip ; 
that the eftablilhment of government was the y 
original fin ; and emancipation from all legal 
reftraint, the true regeneration taught by Je- 
fus Chrift ; and which can be effefted only 
by the wonderful power -of- thofe two words, 
liberty and equality,* 

The reader, who has not been acquainted 
with the hiitory of modern philofophy, will 
hardly believe, perhaps, that this is a ferious 
ftatement of facts, or find it eafy to conceive 
that fuch abfurdities were ever dignified with 
the title of : philofophy. But thefe fentiments 
are all to be found in the code of the Illumi- 
nees ; and to poffefs the mind with thefe fen- 
timents, is the grand clefign of that fyftem of 
policy expreffed by Illuminifm 5 the hiftory of 
which will be given in the fucceeciing chapters, 



G 2 



} Robifoa's Proofs^ p. 6$ } 75, 



Froofs of the Exijfence 

It is proper to obferve here, that at this 
time, Baron Knigge, refided in the neighbor- 
hood of I'Yanckfort, who from his youth had 
been an enthufiaft in Mafonry, and a believer 
in its caballftic. powers. Defpairing, at length, 
of ever finding the Phiioibpher's Stone, in 
purfuit of which his father had fpent his for- 
tune, and he his time, his enthufialm was now 
I into another channel. The fceptical 
diicourfes delivered in the lodges, affifted I 
to diicover that Mafonry was pure natural re- 
ligion, and that the whole duty of man was 
coniprifed in Goirnopolitifm, or facriticing all 
private interefts for the promotion of univerfal . 
happincls. Inflamed with thefe romantic ideas, 
he labored to propagate tkem through the 
lodges. 

The authority affumed by the lodges of 
Berlin,, had difgufted many of their brethren, 
and produced divifions, which were further 
Increafed by a variety of adventurers, each of 
which had his adherents. The Baron, found 
thefe circumftances a bar to his fuccefs, for 
the removal of which he projected a general 
congrefs from ail the niafonic ibcieties in Eu- 
rope and America. The deranged fituatior^ 
of mafonic concerns feemed to render fuch a 
meeting expedient ; and by the afiiftaace of 



and Effefts of ffluminifnn yg 

the lodges of Franckfort and Wetzlar it was 
obtained, and held at Willemfbad, in 17 
Here deputies* affembled from the four quar- 
ters of the globe, were bufied for fix months, 
debating about the myfteries of Mafonry v 
all the fefioufnefs of ftate ambaffadors. 

While Kni^ore was laboring to poffefs the 

00 or 

deputies with his fentiments, he was met by 
another Mafon, the Marquis of Conftanza, 
who convinced him that his new ideas refpect- 
imi Mafonrv had been reduced to a regular 
fyitem, and were now rapidly fpreading in 
fcveral malbnic ibcieues, Transported with 
diicovery, he eagerly united himfelf to 
the Illuminees, which was the feci to which 
the Marquis introduced him, and joined his 
efforts with thofe of his new inftruttor to gain 
over deputies, and to give a direction to the 
proceedings of the convention favorable to 
the deiicrns of the Illuminees, 

In thefe attempts they were not without 
fuccefs. Numbers entere'd fully into their 
views, and the general refult of the congrefs 
was agreeable to their wiflies. It was decreed, 
that any Mafon of the three firft degrees 
fiiould be admitted to every lodge of whatever 
defcription ; which opened all the lodges to 



Proofs of the Ex [fie nee 

the agents of Illuminifm. It was alio decreed, 
that every lodge ftiould have the liberty of de- 
claring to which grand lodge it would be fub- 
ieci. The plan of union was termed Eclectic, 
which was alfo favorable to the new order, as 
it was in lodges of that denomination that it 
be^an its exiftencee* 

We (hall now proceed to take a view of that 
memorable fociety, in which all the Anti- 
Chriftian, and Anti-Social opinions of the day: 
were reduced to a regular fyftem, and propa- 
gated with a zeal worthy, of a better caufe. 



* T lately met with the following remark, in a letter 
from ProfeiTor Ebeling, which I beg leave to introduce 
for the iatisfaclion of thofe who may be difpofed to doubt 
the above reprefentation of Germanic Mafcnry. rt Ma- 
fonry (he writes) was much in vogue in Germany from- 
the year 1740 to 1760," but made no noife ; but in- later 
years the Mafonry of Germany w T as flrangely corrupted ; 
divifions arofe, of which Robifon fpeaks pretty exact as 
far as I know/' 

* Robifon's Proofs, p* 76, 83, Bairuel's Memoirs; 
Vol, IV. p. 10 1 7 104* 



and Ejfefts of liluminifhi, 8 t 



C H A R T. 



I^LVMINISM, Its Origin*, Afters^ and different 
Grades,, 



X HE lodge Theodore, of Munich in 
Bavaria, was the moft remarkable of the Ec- 
lectic lodges ) and had formed a confUtutior- 
of its own , in confluence of mil; g re 

ceiveel from the lodge Bienfaifants at Lyons. 
Diftinguiflied among the members of this. 
-e, was Dr. Adam Weifhaupt, Profeflbr of 
Canon Law in the Univeriity at Ingolftadt. 
He had acquired a high reputation in his pro- 
fefiion, which drew around him numbers from 
neighboring Univerfities. The advantages 
ich thefe circumftances gave him for im- 
pr effing his own views, -upon the minds of 
youth, perhaps firft fuggefted to him the idea 
of becoming the leader of a more numerous . 
fociety, and it certainly was the means of his 
fuccefs. in fpreading his pernicious fentimer-^v 



8 I Proofs of the Exfienct: 

The bold opinions in religion and politics, 
which were more openly taught in the lodge 
Theodore than in any other, and which Knigge 
labored to propagate, Weifliaupt was the firft 
to reduce to a regular code. His icheme ap- 
pears to be calculated, not fo mudr for uniting 
perfons of iimilar fentiments in one fociety, 
as for feducing thofe of oppofite inclinations, 
and by a moit artful and deteftahle proceis, 
gradually obliterating from their minds every 
moral and religious fentiment. It is in this 
view principally that this plan of feducrion calls 
for the attention of mankind, as it developes 
the fecret, infidious policy by which the agents 
of faction and infidelity lead on their cliicipies, 
ilill concealing their real defigns, until the 
toind is involved in a maze of error, or 
entangled in fnares from which there is no 
retreat. 

Another trait which defer ves particular no- 
tice in this prime theory of deception, is that 
artful ftruciure by which the deluded viftim is 
led to give his fupport to a fyftem, which, in 
its invifible operation, is undermining the ob- 
ject of his fondeft attachment. Perfons have 
fubfcribed to this conftitution who, had they 
been aware, of its tendency and iilue, would 



and Effetis of Illuminifm. 8$ 

fooner have committed their hand to the 
flame.* 

What thofe particulars were in Weifhaupt's 
early life, which were confeffedly " great de- 
viations from pure morality," we are not told; 
but the hiftory of his illuminated career, and 
his conduct while he fuftained the dignified of- 
fice of a profeflfor in a Univerfity, certainly 
give us no favorable idea of that part of his life, 
which is acknowledged to be immoral. 

We here lay before the reader a letter^ 
found among the original writings of the Illu- 
minees in Bavaria, from Weifhaupt to Hertel 
Ganon of Munich, but under the feigned 
parries of Spartacus to Marius. 

^September, i 783^ 

" Now let me, under the moll profound fe- 
crecy, lay open the fituation of my heart ; I 
am almoft defparate. My honor is in danger, 
and I am on the eye of loiing thai reputation 
which gave me fo great an authority ever our people, 
Myfijler in law is with child. Haw {hall I reftore 
the honor of a perfon who is the victim of a 

* Rob-ifon's. Proofs, p. 82, 85. Barruel's Memoirs, 
Vol III, Chan, t, 



84 Profs of the Exijlcnce 

crime that is wholly mine ? We have already 
made fever al attempts to dejlroy the child ; ihe was 
determined to undergo all j but Euriphon is too 
timid. Could I depend on Gelfe's fecrecy, 
(Profeffor Buder at Munich) he could be of 
great fervice to me ; he had promised me his aid 
three years ago. Mention it to him if you think 
proper. If you could extricate me from this 
unfortunate ftep, you would reftore me to life, 
to reft, to honor, and to authority. If you 
cannot, I forewarn you of it, / will hazard a 
dcfperate b/ow 9 for I neither can nor will loie 
my honor. I know not what devil * # * [Here 
decency obliges us to be filent.~j It is not too 
late to make an attempt, for {he is only in her 
fourth month. Do think of fome means which 
can extricate me from this affair. 

I am yours, 



Other letters to different perfons upon the 
fame fubjed, and of a limilar import, were 
found with this. Though he had folefhnly 
denied his having ufed, or even being acquaint- 
ed with means of abortion 5 yet, when the 
matter became public, he admits the facts re- 
fpecling his lifter in law, and the attempt to 
deftroy the child, but juftifies himfelf with an 
effrontery which difcovers ftill more than the 



and Effects of Illuminifm. 

crime itfelf, a mind loft to every fentiment of 
goodnefs. " This, 55 he fays, " is far from prov- 
ing any depravity of heart. In his conditio^ 
his honor at ftake, what elfe was left him to 
do ? His greateft enemies, the jefuits, have 
taught, that in fuch a cafe it is lawful to make 
way with the child. In the introductory fault, 
he has the example of the beft of men. The 
fecond was its natural confequence ; it was al- 
together involuntary ; and, in the eye of a 
philofophical judge, who does not fquare him- 
felf by the harfh letters of a blood thirfty law- 
giver, he has but a very trifling account to 
fettle."* 

In connection with the character of the 
founder of the feet, it may be proper to bring 
into view, thofe of his Areopagites, in whom 
he principally confided, and who were feated 
next himfelf in the government of the fociety* 
He himfelf furnilhes the portrait in a letter to 
Cato, (Zwack.) 

" I have received/ 5 he writes, " the moft fatal 
Intelligence from Thebes. They have given 

H 

* Rcbiion's Proofs, p, 1 30 to 1 34. Jarrud's Memoirs* 
Vol. III. Chap. 1. 



25 Proofs of the Ex 

a public fcandal, by admitting into the lodges 
that vile Propertius, a libertine 9 loaded with 
debts, and % mod deteftable being. Our So- 
crates, who could be of the greateft ufe to us, 
is always drunk ; our Augvjtus has acquired 
the worft of reputations ; the brother Alcibi- 
ades is perpetually fighing and pining away at 
the feet of his landlady ; Tiberias attempted 
to lay violent hands on Diomede's fifter, and 
fuffered himfelf to be caught by the hufband ; 
Heavens ! what men have I got for Areopagites !V 

It appears that it was not the deteftable na- 
ture of thefe actions which excited his difguft 5 
but their influence on the reputation of his 
order, for he further writes, " Judge your- 
felves what would be the confequence, if fuch 
a man as our Marcus Aurelius (Feder) were 
cnce to know what zfet of men, deflltute of mor- 
als ; what a fet of debauchees, liars, fpendthrifts, 
bragadocios, and fools, replete with vanity and pride 7 
you have among you, &c."* 

From feveral expreffions in his letters, it 
appears that Weifliaupt had, for a confiderable 
time, been meditating the plan of an order 
which Ihould in time govern the world ; but 

f Robifon's Proofs, p. 1 14. 



/ lllununifm. 

it was not fully completed when lie firft put 
his fyftem in operation, and inftituted the 
order of the lllummees. This was done in I 
1776, by the initiation of two of his Univer* 
fity pupils ; but the order was not fully eftab- 
lifhed till 1778.* 

Weifhaupt's aim in the frequent reviews, 
and nice touches which he gave his plan. 
firft, to explore every avenue to the Lc\ 
every procefs by which he ink effectu- 

ally feduce, and lead men blindfold ; and in 
the next place, to provide ilifficiently for his 
own Security ; for, notwithftancimg the fen- 
tence of baniihmerit whioh he was u: 
drew from him the moil grievous comph 
of defpotic cruelty, he confidered it air 
lighter punifhment than that which awaited 
him in cafe of detection. 

In a letter to Cato, he writes, " I daily put 
to the tefl what I made laft year, and I find 
that my performances of this year are far fupe- 
rior. You know the fituation in which t 
ftand. It is abfolutely neceilary that lihould, 
during my life, remain unknown to the 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 107. Barruel's Memoirs,. Voir 
HI. Chap, u • Ibid. VoL IV. p. 5;, 56. 



>'8 



• Proofs of the Exi/i&na 



greater part of the adepts themfelves. 1 am 
often overwhelmed with the idea that all my medita- 
tions 3 allmyfervices and toils are f perhaps ^ only twijl- 
ing a rope, or planting a gallows for myfelf."* 

The following fcheme exhibits the different 
grades through which the candidate progreffes.. 
to the perfection of Illumination. 

Preparation, 

Novice, 
Minerva], 
Illumin. Minor. 

f Apprentice, 
Symbolic. <j Fellowcraft, 

[Mailer. 
(Ilium. Major, Novice, 
c Illum.Dirigens, Knight. 
Prefbyter, Prieft, 
Prince, Regent, 



Nursery, 



Masonry. < 



Scotch. 

Lef, 



Mystiries 



n . C Maffus, 
ur eater. < _ ^ , 
I Rex.f 



There is a part common to all thefe de- 
grees, via* that of theInfinuator,or Recruiter j 
the duty of whale office is to find and bring 
forward members for the firft and fucceeding 
decrees.! 



* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. III. v, 12, 
X Robifon's Proofs, p. 139, 



f Ibid, 



IQc 



and Effects of Wuminifm. 89 



CHAP. VI, 



The Code of the lllumiriees. 

IT was neceitary that fome members of 
the order ihould be known as luch, that they 
mio-ht ferve as guides to thofe who Ihould 
Have a defire to be initiated. Thefe are the 
Minervah) who are the only vifible members 
of the fociety. K candidate for admiiSon 
riiuft make his wifh known to fome Minerva! j 
lie reports it to a Superior,. by whom, in an ap- 
pointed channel, it is communicated to the 
council, No farther notice is taken of it for 
fome time.- The candidate is obferyed in 
filence, if judged unfit for the order no nc 
is taken of his requeft ; but if other wife, he 
receives privately an invitation to a confer- 
ence, and upon figning the declaration requir- 
ed of the preparation ciafs, is admitted to the 
Noviciate.* 

H 2 
* Robifbu's Prooft ? p, 94, 



go Proofs of the Exijhnce 

But the hipMiuitors are the principal agents 
for propagating the order. Thefe are invlfible- 
iples.feeking w/jo??i they may devour > who enter 
on their tablets, with which they are always 
to be furnifbed, the names of fuch as they 
judge would be ufeful to the order, with the 
reafoxis for or againft their admiffion- 

The directions of the infinuator teach him 
to feek after young men from eighteen to 
thirty, thofe in particular who have not com- 
pleted their education, and thofe whofe exte- 
rior prepoifeffes one in their favor. His at- 
tention is likewife directed to men of rank, 
wealth, and influence. Men of an insinuat- 
ing, intriguing difpofition, mechanics of all 
profeillons, bookfellers, fchool matters, poft 
mailers, thofe who keep poft horfes, and the 
diicontented of every clafs of people* 

Of thefe minutes the Infinuator is required 
to make a return twice every month to his 
fuperiors, who form a lift of fuch as they 
judge faitable prey, and put it into the hands 
of an Infinuator, not the one perhaps who fent 
in the name, but one whom the fuperiors of 
the order fhall fee fit to appoint. And he 
now begins the labor of gaining over his pu- 
pil to the fociety. The perfqn thus marked 



and Effects of Muminifm. 

as the object of fedu&ion, though he has ex- 
preffedno defire of uniting with the order, is 
placed in the grade of 

Preparation. It would be a talk indeed to 
trace minutely the arts of information, and the 
cautious fteps by which the Recruitor is to 
proceed. In general, the curiofity of the fub- 
ject is to be excited by fuggeftions, made as 
by accident, of the exiftence and power of 
fuch a fociety ; his mind is to be impreffecl 
with the moft honorable views of the defign of 
this inftitution 5 his affections and confidence 
are to be gained by every art of infinuation 5 
the power of fecret focieties, and the pleafure 
of fecretly reigning^ are to be prefented to his 
imagination, and books provided by the focie- 
ty, and correfponding with its views, are to be 
put into his hands. Should he break from all 
thefe fnares, he is marked for an enemy whofe- 
character and influence the ibciety is hence- 
forth concerned to d-eftroy.-- They ikujl be 
gained , or ruined in the public opinion, is the law of 
the order. But fhould the candidate, by thefe 
arts, be led to exprefs a defire to join this in- 
vifible combination, he is required to fubferibe 
an exprefs and folemn declaration-, " never to 
reveal, by fign, word, or any other way, even 
to the moft. intimate friend, whatever (hall be 



9? Proofs of the Ex'iflence 

e'ntrufted to him relative to his entrance ijattf 
a fecret fociety, and this whether his reception 
take place or not j and that he fubje&s himfeif 
to this fecrecy the more willingly, as his intro- 
ducer affures him^ that nothing is ever ira?ifacled in 
this fociety hurtful to religion^ morals or the fate."* 
The candidate having fubferibed this declara-- 
tion commences 

Novice. He is now introduced to an in~ 
itrucior, the only one perhaps of the order 
whom he is permitted to know. By this in- 
flruftor he is taught, that Jilence and fecrecy are 
the very foul of the order + and enjoined never to 
fpeak of any thing belonging to it, even be- 
fore thofe whom he may fuppofe to be initio 
ated, without the ftrongeft neceflity. He is 
alfo furnifhed with a new fupply of books and' 
writings, calculated for his advancement, - 

Here a cautionary direction is introduced 5 
which extends to all the different degrees, that 
if any of the brotherhood fall fick, the other 
brethren are to vifit him, to prevent his mak- 
ing any unfavorable declarations, and to fe« 
cure any papers with which he may have been 
entrufted. 

* Robifcn's Proofs, p. 94, BarruePs Memoirs, Vol. Ill, 
Chap. 3 -., 



and Effiefts of lllumhiijm. 

To qualify the Novice for the practice of 
that fecrecy which has been reprefented as of 
iuch importance, he is furnilhed with what 
may be called the Dictionary of Illuminifm. He 
here learns that no brother bears the fame 
name in the order which he does in the world. 
He receives a name for himfelf, and is made 
acquainted with that of his inftructor, and 
with thofe of the other brethren, as he is ad- 
mitted to know them. 

The following is a brief fample of this vo- 
cabulary. The fictitious name of Weifhaupt, 
was Spartacus ; of Knigge, Philo ; of the Mar- 
quis Conftanza, Diomedes ; of Zwack, Cato ; o£ 
Baron Baffus, Hannibal ; of Count Savioli, 
Brutus ; of Nicoiai, Lucian ; of Count Mat 
fenhaufen, Ajasc ; of Councellor Hoheneicher^ 
Alcibiades ; of Merz, Tiberius ; &c* 

The Novice is alfo put upon the ftudy of a 
new Geography j from which he learns, that 
places, as well as perfons, bear a new name. 
Bavaria, is denominated Achaia^ and Auftria 
Egypt ; Munich is called Athens , and Vienna^ 
Rome^ &c* 

* BarruePs Memoirs, Vol. III. Chap. 4. and Vol. Vi\ 
j. 173. Robifcn's Proofs, p. 160, 



94 Proofs of the Ex [fence 

Time too,- he finds, has undergone a new ar- 
rangement, and he muft again ftudy his calen- 
dar. The Perfian era, beginning A. D. 6303 u 
adopted by the llluminees. The months are 
known by new names, and are of very dif- 
ferent lengths ; Pharavardin has no lefs than 
forty one days, while Afphandar has only 
twenty. 

Nor is the candidate yet qualified to corref- 
pond with his new brethren, until he has ac- 
quired the cypher of the order. A fimplc one 
is prepared for the lower grades, but the fu* 
periors make ufe of hieroglyphics. 

He now begins the fiudy of the ftatutes oi 
the fociety, and a morality extracted from 
heathen writers ; but is told that the knowli 
edge of mankind is above all other things im- 
portant, and to acquire this, tracing charac- 
ters, and noticing occurrences, are ftrenuoufly 
recommended ; his obfervations are to be 
fubmitted to the review of his fuperiors. 

In this ftage of his noviciate, he is required 
to prefent the order with a written account of 
his name, place of birth and refidence, age, 
rank, profeffion, favorite ftudies, books, fe- 
cret writings, revenues, friends, enemies, 



and Effects of Illwrimifnu 95 

parents, &c. A fimilar table is prepared by 
his inftructor, of whatever he has been able 
to difcover ; and from a comparifon of thefe, 
and his anfwers to a number of interefting 
queftions, the fuperiors judge of the expedi- 
ency of admitting him to the laft proofs, 

His admiffion being agreed upon, in the 
dead of the night he is led to a gloomy apart- 
ment, and being repeatedly queftioned re- 
fpeding hisreadinefs to devote himfelf to the 
order, he confirms his confent with a folemn 
oath, of which the following is a part, ^ I vow 
an eternal Jilence, an inviolable obedience and fidelity 
to all my fuperiors, and to the Jlatutes of the order. 
With refped to what may be the objed of the order , 
I fully and abfolutely renounce my own penetration, 
and my own judgment. I promife to look 
upon the interefts of the order as my own ; 
and as long as I lhall be a member of it, / 
promife to ferve it with my life, my honor, and my 
e/tates" Having figned this oath, and with a 
fword pointed at his breaft, being- threatened 
with unavoidable vengeance, from which no 
potentate on earth can defend him, fhould he 
^betray the order, he commences 

Minerval, and becomes a member of 9 



9 6 Proofs of the Exftence 

Hodge.* Here illuminifm commences its con* 
neftion with Mafonry ; and here thofe, who 
do not difcover a difpofition fully compliant 
with the views of their guides, are left to 
divert themfelves with the three degrees of 
apprentice, fellowcraft, and matter, and never 
attain any further acquaintance with Illumin- 
ifm. But this, it was found, would not fat- 
isfy all candidates, and in particular, thofe 
who had.previoufly been members of lodges ; 
fome intermediate degrees were therefore add- 
ed, as the minor and major Illuminee, and 
Scotch Kniffht. 



X 6 A 



The Minervals hold frequent meetings un- 
der the dire&ion of fome more illuminated 
fuperior. Thefe meetings are profeiTedly de- 
voted to literary purfuits, but particular care 
is taken to give the difcuffions a dire&ion 
svhich fhall coincide with the defigns of Illu- 
minifm. That filicide is lawful under preffing 
dangers and calamities ; that the end fanclifes the 
means ) or that theft and murder become com- 
mendable when committed to advance a good 
caufe, are fentiments frequently brought into 
view in the meetings of the Minervals. From 
thefe difcuffions the fuperiors judge of the 

* Barruef s Memoirs, Vol. III. Chap. 4, 



and Effects of lUumlrufnu (,; 

propriety of advancing the candidate to the 
next degree, which is that of" 

Illumlnatus Minor. The members of this 
clafs have meetings fimilar to tlxofe of the 
former degree, but their instructors are taken 
only from among thofe who have attained 
the rank of prieft, and who are directed to 
labor to remove what, in the language of 
liluminifm, is termed political and religious 
prejudices. The candidates are now to be 
formed for ufeful laborers. They are put 
upon ftudying the fecret arts of controiing 
the mind, of feizing the favorable moment, 
of difcovering and addrefiing the ruling paf- 
fion, of acquiring a pliancy and versatility 
of addrefs, and of concealing their views and 
feelings from others. As they are found 
qualified, they have more or lefs of the mi- 
nerval degree committed to their infpeclion. % 

Previous to his advancement to the next de- 
gree, the candidate is fubjeckd to another 
fcrutinizing examination refpeciing his views, 
and devotednefs to the interefts of liluminifm. 



* Roblfon's Proofs, p. g& BarruePs Memoirs, Vol. 
III. Chap. 5. 



9 8 Proofs of the Expense 

lie is likewife required to give the order a 
new proof of his confidence, by exhibiting 
an exaft record of his whole life written with- 
out refer vation. The defign of the Inftitutor 
in requiring this, appears from his own re- 
marks on this part of his code ; " Now I hold 
him ; if he Jhould wjlrto betray us, ive havealfo 
his fccrets" 

The hiftory which the candidate gives of 
himfelf, is compared with the one already 
formed, in the records of the order, from 
the returns made by his Inftruclor, and the 
difcoveries of invifible fpies, in which, every 
thing relating to his character, abilities, weak- 
neffes, paffions, profpeds, attachments, aver- 
fions, education, and even language, gait, 
and phyfiognomy, are noticed in perhaps fif- 
teen hundred particulars. To imprefs^the 
mind of the adept with the ftrongeft fenfe o, 
the activity of the order, and the folly of 
expedina; to efcape its vigilance, this portrait 
of himfelf is put into his hands, and he is 
again queftioned refpeding his difpofition 4o 
unite with fuch a fociety. 

The difpofition of the candidate being 
founded by a newferiesof queftions, andhav- 
>ated the former oaths of fecrecy, antf 



msr rene 



and Bffefls of Illamimfou 99 

rkvotednefs to the order, he pafies through 
the initiating forms, by which he becomes* 

liluminaius Major? or Scotch Novice. It is 
impoflible, I find, in this blief iketch, to give a 
full view of the flow, artful, and infidious 
procefs by which the mind is powerfully, 
though inlenlibly, drawn from the ppfFeffion of 
its former principles, and fired with a fanciful 
idea of icon attaining. the regions of fublirne 
wilUom* 

The adept has (till an Initrucrcr, who now 
calls him to attend to the miferies under 
which mankind are groaning:, and the ineiil- 
cacy of all the means ufed; for their relief. 
This is attributed to the reftraints to which 
they are fubjected by princes and the prieft- 
hood. The importance of fur 'rounding ibe pow- 
ers of the earth with invisible avents* and infer. 



V LIJC CLlt <.fJ Cii;j iil vlilUlG UYCflld- UilU till 
J ^ o > J 



binding their hands , and the necefiity of unicit 
among the friends of fuffering humanity, to 
accomplifh this deiirable end, are itrongly in- 
culcated. The tractable pupil" has but one 
grade more to afcend before he enters the fe- 
crets of Illuminifm. This is termed by the 
fed thej ' 

* jRebifbn's Proofs, p.*ioi — 1©6. Barruel's Memoirs, 
Vol. III. Chap. 6 and 7. 

r Barruel's Memoirs, Yob III. Chap, 7, 



l oo Proofs of the E:-: fence 

Scotch Knight. In the late mafonic revo- 
lution, this new degree, which had been 
brought from France, was adopted by feveral 
of the German lodges. The welcome reception 
which thofe of this met with in all the 

lodges, determined the Illummees to unite it 
with their fyftem. This becomes a Sta bene, or 
ftationary degree, to filch as they fee fit to ad- 
vance above the common degrees of Mafonry, 
but are not judged worthy of being admitted 
to the higher fecrcts. 

Inftead of the fcencs of darknefs and horror 
which attended the introduction to the other 
degrees, the candidate is now introduced into 
a fplendid lodge, where all the Knights are 
preient in the habiliments of their order ; and 
here, he is told, is a part of thofe unknown 
ons, united by indiffoluble bands, to defend 
the caufe of humanity. 

In the courfe of the ceremonies, Jefus Chrift 
is declared to be the grand majler of the order, the 
enemy of luperflltion, and afferter of reafon j 
and in commemoration of him, a mockrepre- 
fentation is exhibited of the Lord's Supper. 

The inftru&ions given the new Knight, 
direct him to promote the increafe of Ecle&ic 



and Effi T cls\ ^ Ilhmiinijhh i c i 

Mafonry ; to endeavor to gain an afcendancy 
in all other mafonic lodges, either to reform 
or deitroy them; and, as far as pofiible, to con- 
vert their funds to the advancement of the 
caufe of IUuminifm-o* 

Here we come to the door which leads to 
the myfterie's of Illuminiim ; and here we 
mud leave behind all thofe, who, though pleaf- 
ed with romantic ideas of Colmopolitifm, and 
of undermining what appeared to them fuper- 
ftition, and w r ho, under thefe imprefiions, 
might actively discharge the inftructions laft 
received, yet were not to he trailed with the 
higher my fteries of Illuminifm. 

The reader will naturally conclude, that all 
who were admitted to this order, were not 
fubjecred to thefe tedious preparatory forms ; 
fome were found (as Knigge for inftance) who 
met the warmcft wifhes of the fociety, and 
without any preparation were introduced to 
its myfteries. 



I 2 



# p 



Prcofs 3 p> 141 to 145. Memoirs, Vol. IIL Chap, 8, 



Proof} of the Exljicnco 



C H A P. VII. 



The Mvfteries and Government of the Order*. 

W E muft not exped, on entering thefe 
iecret chambers, to find the veil which con- 
ceals the real deiigns of the Illuminees wholly 
removed* The terrifying impreflions of the 
rope, which Weifhaupt was fo confeious of 
meriting, kept him much behind the curtain. 
This induced him to divide his myfteries into 
the lejfer and the greater y Q2ich of which have two 
departments, one relating chiefly to Religion, 
and the other to Politics. The firft degree in 
the leffer myfteries is that of the 

Epopf y or Priejl. As introductory to this 
degree, feveral queftions are propofed to the 
candidate, which imply, that no religion, 
government, or civil affociation on earth, 
correfponds with the wants of mankind j 
and that fecret focieties are the fafe, and on- 
ly effectual remedies to fupply this defed. 
He is aiked, and the queftipn merits the 



and Ejfefts of llluminifau 103 

consideration of thofe who ridicule the appre- 
henfion of danger from Illuminifm, " Have 
you any idea of fecret /octet ies ; of the rank they hold, 
or the parts they perform in the events of this 
world ? Do you view them as in/ignificant and tran* 
/tent meteors ? O brother ! God and Nature 
had their admirable ends in view, and they 
make ufe of thefe fecret focieties as the only, 
and as the indifpenfible, means of conducting 
us thither. Thefe /ecret /chaols ofphilofophy (hall 
one day retrieve the /all of human nature* and, 
princes and nations fhall d'f appear from the face 0/ 
the earthy and that without any violence. Reafon 
foal be the only book 0/ laws^ the/ole code of man" 

The object of the fecret of jefus, he is told, 
was to reinftate mankind in their original lib- 
erty and equality, but that this fecret was dif- 
clofed only to a few. In proof of this he 
quotes thefe words of Chrift. " To you is 
given to know the myftery of the kingdom 
of God ; but to them that are without, all 
things are done in parables."* 

This doftrine, the profelyte is then told, is 
the origin of Mafonry, and the true explana- 
tion of its hieroglyphics, The rough ftone of 

f Mark; vr. u> 



io4 Proofs of the Exijience 

Mafonry, is the fymbol of the primitivcftatc 
of man, lavage, but free. The ftone iplit, 
reprefents the flate of fallen nature, of man- 
kind divided according to their ftates, gov- 
ernments, or religions. 

On this occafion the profelyte, previous to 
his receiving the prieftly unction, is invefted 
with a white tunic ; the fleeve is tied at the 
extremity and middle with bandages of fcarlet, 
and he wears a broad filken belt of the fame 
color. This drefs is particularly defcribed, be- 
caufe it was in a fimilar one that, during the 
French revolution, a comedian appeared per- 
fonally attacking Almighty God, faying, "No ! 
thou doft not exift. If thou haft power over 
the thunder bolts, grafp them ; aim them at 
the man who dares fet thee at defiance in the 
face of thy altars. But no, I blafpheme thee, 
and I (till live. No, thou doft not exift. 5 '* 
The next degree in the leffer myfteries is that 
of the 

Regent. As preparatory to the intro- 
duction of the candidate to this degree, he 
is brought to the lodge in the habit of a Have 
loaded with chains. " It is inquired, who 
reduced him to that moft miferahle of all con- 

? Proofs ? p. 145 tc 151, Memoirs, Vol, III. Chap. io» 



and Effeds of III i o 5 

tiitions ? It Is anfwered, foclcty, governments, 
the Sciences, and falfe religion. A voice from 
within denies him entrance, declaring, that 
none but freemen can enter there. His guide 
then anfwers for him 5 that his will is to be 
free j that he has been illuminated ; flies from 
his tyrants, and feeks refuge among freemen." 

It is needlefs to detail the hacknied fenti- 
ments found in the inftru&ions given en this 
occafion, as, excepting the mode of exprefUng 
them, they are very fimilar to thofe which 
have been already mentioned, and which will 
be found in their private ccrrefpondence lefe 
veiled in myltery. 



One part of thefe infractions, however, ar« 
refts the attention, which follows j *f The great 
ilrength of our order lies in its concealment j 
let it never appear in any place in its own name,, 
but always covered by another name, and 
another occupation. None is jitter than the three 
lower degrees of Free Mafonry ; the public is accuf 
tomsd to it, expeffs little fr on it, and therefore takes 
little notice of it. Next to this, the form of a literary 
fociety is ieji fluted to our purpofes " 



Upon the admiffion of the Regent, his for- 
mer oaths and fecrets are relinquifhed, with 



io$ Proofs of the Exijhncc 

an expreulon of entire confidence in his firni- 
nefs ; and in return he gives the order an in- 
ftrument, legally executed, by which they are 
empowered, in cafe of his deceafe, to claim 
any private papers with which he may be? 
cstrufted.* 

Such were the leffer myfteries of the lllu- 
minees. Thofe which they term the greafer, 
were likewife diftinguifhed into thofe of Ma* 
jus, or Philofopher, and Rex, or Man King, 
T hefe degrees were not found with the other 
writings ; and the caufe appears in a letter 
from Spartacus (Weifhaupt) to Cato, in 
which, fpeaking of one of his higher degrees; 
hefays, "I never fuflfer it to go out of my hands, 
// is of too ferious an import^ Philo, (Knigge) 
who itfeems affifted informing: the higher 
degrees, writes to the fame perfon ; " I have 
m$de ufe of fuch precaution in the degrees of 
of Epopt, and of Regent, that I iliould not be 
afraid of conferring them on Kings or Popesj 
provided they had undergone the proper pre- 
vious trials. In our 1 aft myfteries we havs 
acknowledged this $ms fraud \"\ - 

* Proofs, p. 15 1 to 154. Memoirs, Vol. III. Ch. 1 1, 15, 
f BarrueFs Memoirs, Vol. IH* Chap. 12. 



and Effects of lilumlnifnu voy 

Dr. Rohifon here quotes the pubiifher of 
the Neuefte Arhitung, and Grollman ; and 
Abbe Barruel quotes Biederman, and a writer, 
who had left his name with the editors of the 
Eudemonia, (a Journal printed at Franckfort 
on the Main) to be published if neceffary, who 
all profefs to have read thefe degrees, and 
;unite in their testimony, " that in the degree 
of Majus the do&rines are the fame with thofe 
*o£ Spinoza, where afll is material. God and 
the world are the fame thing, and all religions 
are reprefented as chimerical, and the inven- 
tion of ambitious men/' The fecond degree, 
or Rex, teaches, " that every citizen, or house- 
holder is a fovereign, as in the Patriarchal 
■ftate ; that, all authority, and all magiftracy 
-xnuft be deftroyed, and that democratic gov- 
ernments are not more confonant with nature 
.than any others."* 

The reader doubtlefs will remark the incon- 
fiftency between thefe fentiments upon gov- 
ernment, and .the attempt which Weiihaupt 
was then making to render the government 
of the Illuminees univerfal and abfolute. All 
that appears to remove this inconfiftency, is 
to be found under the degree of Regent, 

* Proofs, 0,158, Mem. Vol. III. Ch. 12. and Note. 



x o3 Proofs of the Exigence 

where, in a feries of queftions, the candidate 
is led to fay, " That mankind ought to think 
themfelves happy in having fuperiors of tried 
merit; and who, unknown to each other, could 
not pofilbiy fupport each other in treafonabie 
combinations againft the general welfare ; and 
that, fuppofing defpotifm were to enfue, it could 
not be dangerous in the hands of men, who from 
the very firft ftep we took in the order, 
taught us nothing but feience, liberty and 
virtue."* 

Having thus traced the artful procefs by 
which Weifhaupt led his difciples to expect, 
like the deluded parents of our race, to become 
as Gods> but which, in fact, was calculated to 
deprive them of light, truth, and righteouf- 
nefs ; we here fubjoin a brief view of the 
arrangement and governmental regulations 
of the fociety. At the head of the order, 
however cxtenfive, is the 

General ; to whom regular returns are to 
be made of whatever relates to its general, 
or more particular interefts. A conftant com- 
munication and correfpondence is to be pre* 
ferved between him and the 



* BarruePs Memoirs, Vol, III. p. 133, 



nnd Effects of Bluftitnifiii* 109 

Areopaghesi or councilof twelve, who com- 
pofe the next degree in the general govern- 
ment. The General of the order is to be 
elected by this council, and from their own 
number, and to them only is he known, ex- 
cept to fuch immediate confidents, agents, and 
Secretaries as he fhail fee fit to employ. The 
bufinefs of this fupreme council is to receive 
the returns that are made, and prepare them 
for the infpeciion of the General ; and they 
are particularly -directed to " project and ex- 
amine plans to be adopted for gradually ena- 
bling the fociety to attack the enemy of rea- 
fon and human nature, pr finally ^ Next ra 
office is the 

National Director ; who fuftains the fame 
relation to the Iliuminees of a particular na- 
tion, which the General does to the whole or- 
der. The views of the fociety w r ere not con- 
fined to one nation. He too, as the General., 
has his council of twelve** Subordinate to 
him are the 

Provincials, who have the direction of the 
affairs of the order in the feveral provinces* 

K 
* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol III, Chap, i8i 



1. 1 o Proofs of theMxiJfence 

The Provincial is empowered to affemble fuch 
regents of his province as he fliall choofe to 
aflift in council.* The next in dignity, 
though not in the direct line of the general 
arrangement, is the 

Bean. He is chofen by the Epopts, and 
prefides in their academy. The 

Epopts, or Priejls, form a curious and im- 
portant part in the general fyftem. From 
this clafs is formed an academy or chamber of 
fcience, confifting of their moft learned men 
m thevarious arts and fciences. The perfons 
compofing this academy, were to be fupport- 
,ed by the funds of the fociety, that they 
might devote their time to the obje&s of their 
appointment. All queftions of difficulty pro- 
pofed by any of the inferior degrees, w r ere re- 
quired to be given in writing, to their imme- 
diate fuperiors, and by them tranfmitted to 
the academy for folution ; from thence, in the 
fame channel, jthe querift received his an- 
fwer, but from a fource to him unknown. 
The reader will obferve the tendency of this 
Inftitutionto promote the literary reputation 
of the order, and to perfuade the adept thai 

** Earruel's Memoirs, Vol. III. Chap. 17. 



and Effects of Uhaninfm. 1 1 i 

he is connected with the fountain head of 
fcience. 

" The Occult Sciences" form one branch par- 
ticularly recommended to the attention of the 
academy, under which is comprehended. 
" The ftudy of the oriental tongues, and 
others little known ; fecret methods of writ- 
ing, and the art of decyphering ; the art of 
rnifirig the feals of the letters cf others, and of 
preferving their own from fimilar practices ; 
the ftudy of ancient and modern hieroglyph- 
ics, of fecret focieties, mafonic fyftems, &c>* 
Subordinate to the Provincial in a direct line,} 
we find the 

Prefects, each of which may have the in- 
fpe<ftion of eight lodges, in whofe meetings 
they are required to preiide. To thefe, prin- 
cipally, is entrufted the care of the lower part 
of the edifice,- 

The regents alone are eligible to the above 
offices ; and thofe of this degree who have 
no particular appointments, are charged with 
the general infpection of the lower orders, 
and to ftudy the advancement of the interefis 
of the fociety by all poffible means. 

* Barru-Ps Men&irs* VptULCbap. 14, 



i i 1 Proofs of the ExifEence 

A degree of fupcrviforfhip. and infpecfnon 
is likewife committed to the Scotch Knights,, 
and even to the Major and Minor Illuminees, 
over the Mmerval, and other preparatory: 
clafles, but at ,the fame time they themfelves 
are under the conftant infpeclion of Prefers 
and Regents, to whom alone the real views, 
of the order are known/* 

The inilruetions given to thefe feveral agents 
of Illuminifm, would ferve greatly to unfold 
the art, and difcover the object, of the infli-. 
rution. They are a compound of whatever 
the higheft machivelian policy could fuggeft, 
to conceal, and yet advance the ends of 
the fubtle projector, and to acquire and 
maintain a tyrannical afcendency over the 
minds of men ; but they are too numerous to 
be introduced here.f 

Very juft is the remark made by ProfefTor 
Renner, one of the deponents on the fubjeel, 
What the great Jlrength of the order eonfifis in its 
invifibiUtj. A brother may know the fecrets- 
of his clafs, and thofe of an inferior one, but 
all above him are entirely unknown ; unlefs 
his fuperiors have conferred on him the com- 

* BarruePs Memoirs, Vol. III. Chap. 16. f Ibid,, 
p. 175—248, 



and Effeds of llluminifri. i * 3 

niiffion of Director, Vifitdr, or Spy. The 
chiefs, by this method, watch an inferior, 
while they themfelves are concealed j they 
know how far he is devoted to the order, and 
true to the fecrets with which he is entrufted. 
If he has doubts, to whom can he reveal them 
with confidence, when the perfon to whom 
he commits himfelf, may be one employed to 
lift him, and who encourages his confidence 
only to betray him ? 

" An advantage ftill more important, refults 
from this concealment, for fhould any one be 
difpofed, he is incapable of difcovering the fu* 
fuperiors of the order, while they at the fame 
time can give their fupport to any of the ac- 
cufed without a fufpicion, perhaps, of being 
connected with therm" 

This invifibility, as they call it, of the real 
Illuminees, it may be imagined excludes' all 
communication from the lower to the fuperior 
degrees ; whereas, in fact, any perfon belong- 
ing to the lower grades may exhibit a com- 
plaint again ft his Inftru&or, or afk any privi- 
lege of the Provincial, National or General, 
according to his ftanding, while at the fame 
time he remains wholly ignorant of the perfon 
he addreffes, and even of the place of his refi. 



1 14 Proofs of the Exi/ieme 

dence. Indeed, the inferiors of the order arc 
required to make, in this way, a monthly re- 
turn to their invifible fuperiors, of the conduct 
of thole under their infpeciion, and of what- 
ever they conceive materially interefting to 
the inftitution. 

This curious correfpondence is conducted in 
the following manner : A letter, with the dU 
retlion of £>uibus Licet, i. e. to whom it be- 
longs, and marked with the lign of the clafs 
of which the writer is a member, is opened 
by the next fuperiors. Thole having the ad- 
dition of Soli or Prime, are conveyed to the 
Provincial, National, or General, according to 
the rank of the writer, and the direction 
which is given, whether Soli or Primo.*' 



* Robifon's Proofs, p. 177. Barrucl's Memoirs, VoL, 
III. g. 225* Vol. IV 7 . g, 145 to 149* 



and Effifts of lUuminijki. 



C H A P. VIIL 



%he D if cover y of the Seffii 



~ r lH 



X HE firft. alarm- was given by a difcovs- 
tj of many dangerous publications which were 
fecretly circulated \ feveral of thefe were traced 
back to the lodge Theodore, of which Wei- 
fliaupt was amember. Friendly remonftrances 
were firft made, by the Elector of Bavaria, on 
the fubject, but thefe ■ abufes -continuing, he 
ordered a judicial inquiry into the proceedings 
of this lodge. It was found that this, and 
feveral affociated lodges, were preparatory 
fchools for another order of Mafons, who de- 
nominated themfelves 

The Illuminated* Several called Minervals^ 
were faid to belong to this order, but the per- 
fons, by whom, they were admitted, were un- 
known. Some of thefe were privately exam- 
ined by the Elector himfejf. They faid they 
were bound to fecrecy y but they affured the 



Xi6 Proofs of the Exijlenee 

Elector, on their honor, that the aim of the 
order was ufefui both to church and Hate. 

This not relieving the public anxiety, an 
order was publifhed on the 2 ad of June, 1784, 
forbidding all fecret affemblies, and fhutting 
up the Mafon lodges. The members of the 
lodge Theodore diftinguifhed themfelves by 
a pointed oppofi-tion to this order ; reprobat- 
ing the prohibition as cruel, and continuing 
their meetings. By a fubfequent edict, the 
order of the Illuminees was aboliihed, and 
iearch was made, in the lodge Theodore, for 
papers ; none of importance, however, were 
found. 

In 1785, four Profeffors ' of the Marianen 
Academy, viz. Utfchneider, Cofandey, Ren- 
der, and Grtinberger, with fome others, who 
appear to have withdrawn from the order, un- 
der a conviftion of its evil tendency,; were 
fummoned before a court of inquiry. None 
of thefe had been admitted to the my fteries; 
yet their evidence was alarming. Their 
teflimony agreed with what has been relat- 
ed refpecting the lower degrees, and they 
further declared, *'* that, in the lodges, 
fenfual pleafures were advocated, and felf- 
rnurder juftified, on epicurian and ftoical 
principles j that death was reprefented as an 



and Effects of llluminiftiu 1 1 / 

eternal fie p ; patriotifm and loyalty were call- 
ed narrow-minded prejudices, incompatible 
with universal benevolence. Nothing was fo 
frequently difcuffed as the propriety of em- 
ploying, for a good purpofe, the means which 
the wicked employed for evil purpofes." 

Thefe depositions, given feparately, under 
oath, and the fignature of the deponents, were 
perfectly harmonious ; but the moft offenfive 
parts were denied by the Illuminees, and much 
clamor was raifed. Weifhaupt. however, was 
deprived of his Profeffor's chair, and banifhed 
from Bavaria, He went firft to Regenfhurg, 
and afterwards entered into the fervice of the 
Duke of Saxe Gotha, whofe name in the or- 
der was Timoleon.* 

In 17865 a collection of original papers and 
correfpondence, was found in the houfe of 
counfellor Zwack ; and foon after, a much 
larger collection in the caftle of Sanderdorf, 
belonging to Baron Baifus. This* collection 
has been publiihed, by order of the Elector, 
under the title of " Original Writings" From 
thefe papers, principally, were taken the 

* Robifbn's Proofs, p. 85 to 89, Bamiel's Men 
Vol IV. Chap., 7, 



2 r8 Proofs of the Exijleme 

details refpecting the code and government c£ 
the Illuminees.* Some extracts from the epif- 
tolary part of thefe writings will now be pre- 
ferred to the reader, more fully to bring into 
view the object of the order, and the means 
adopted to attain this object. 

Spartacus, writing to Cato, on the lubjetl of 
eftablifhing a peculiar morality and religion, 
fitted for the great body of mankind, fays. 
u > But this is a ticklifh projeft, and requires 
the utmoit circumfpe&ion. The fqueamifh 
will ftart at -the fight of religious and political 
novelties ; and they mull be prepared for 
them. We muft be particularly careful about 
the books we recommend. I fhall confine 
them at firft to moraiifts^ ^and reafoningj hifto- 
rians. Robinet^ Mlrabeau, the Social SyJi&Tf, Nat- 
ural Polity, the Philofophy of Nature, and fuch 
works are referved for our higher degrees, 
At prefent they muft not even be mentioned 
to our adepts, and particularly Hehetius on 
Man." The reader here fees a lift of the moft 
anti-religious, atheiftical productions, and that 
they are referved for the laft myfteries. " Ma- 
rius," he adds, " an excellent man, muft be 
dealt with. His ftomach, which cannot yet 

* Robifon's Proofs^p, 107. Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. 
III. p. 145.. 



and.Effe^sof Ulumnifnu 1-19 

dige'ft fuch ftrong food, muft acquire a better 
tone."* But after all the cautious fteps of 
the leader, Knigge, in a letter to Zwack, ex- 
preffes his apprehenilons, that " fueh a fitter a» 
bundance of athelfm would betray the tendency of the 
fe6i toofoon"\ 

Brutus writes, "Numenius (Count Kollow- 
rath) now acquiefces in the mortality of the 
foul, but, I fear we ftialllofe Ludovicus Bava- 
rais. He told Spartacus that he was miftaken 
when he thought that lie had fwallowed his 
ftupid Mafonry."| 

Weifhaupt, writing to Cato, an account of 
his degree of priefts, fays, " One would al- 
moft imagine, that this degree, as I have man- 
aged it, is real Chriftianity. In this fenfe, 
no man need be afhamed of being a Chrift- 
ian, for I preferve the name, and fubftitute 
reafon."§ 

fi Robiion's Proofs, p. T09. Earruel's Memoirs, VoL 
IV. p. 43, 

f BarruePs Memoirs, VoL IV. Obfervations, p. 8. 

i Robifon's Proofs, p. 169. 

§ Robifon's Proofs, p, 119, Barrud's Memoirs, Vol 
.III. p. 144, 



1 2 o f roofs of the TLxjience 

The Areopagites, though united in their 6b- 
je<5h, appear to have differed much with refpect 
to the beft means of attaining it ; while fome 
were fearful of alarming the adepts by too 
hafty difcoveries, others were difgufted with 
the tedious flownefs of this procefs of deceit. 
Minos (Baron Dittfurt) " wanted to intro- 
duce atheifm at once, and not go hedging in 
the manner they did ; affirming, it was eafier 
to fiiow at once that atheifm was friendly to 
fociety, than to explain all their mafonic 
Chriftianity, which they were aftenvards to 
fhow to be a bundle of lies."* Language cannot 
furniili a phrafe, more defcriptive than this, of 
the nature of Illuminifm; the whole fyftem was 
" abundle of lies,' 5 a plan of concealed falfehood 
and deception. The means perfectly corres- 
pond with the defign of the projectors, and 
iiifficiently explain the nature of that defign. 

We have before been led to notice the im- 
portance which thefe confpirators attribute to 
fecret Societies, as the main fpring of their de- 
itruclive machinery. While they are perpet- 
ually reminding each other, that here lay their 
hopes of fuccefs, it becomes us not to lofe 
fight of this engine of mifchief. The follow- 
ing is an extract from a le&ure, which Wei- 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 135, 



I2l 

ihaupt read to his adepts on this fubjeft. 
f c When the obicct is an univerfal revolution, 
all the members of thefe focicties muft find 
means of governing invilibly, and without 
any appearance of violence, men of all ftations, 
of all nations^ and of every religion. Infmuate 
the fame fpirit every where. In filence, but 
with the greateit activity poffilile, direct the flat- 
tered inhabitants of the earth toward the fame 
point." In proof of the importance of fuch a 
lecret union, he reafons thus : u The flighteft 
obfervation (hews that nothing will fo much 
contribute to increafe the zeal of the members 
as fecret union. We fee with what keennefs 
and zeal the frivolous bulinefs of Free Mafon- 
ry is conducted by perfons knit together by 
the fecrecy of their union."** 

Among their plans of deception was found 
a fcheme " for a public literary academy, to 
confrft of two claffes of men ; the one of men 
remarkable for their zeal in religion, the other 
of profound Illuminees. Each member to 
wear on his breaft a medal with this infcrip- 
tion, Rellgioni ei Scieniiis" (to religion and 



* BamiePs Memoirs, Vol, III. p. ■ 18. Robhon's 
Proofs, p, 93, 



ff 2 2 Proofs of the Exiftence • 

feiences.)* " And no marvel ; for Satan himfelf 
is transformed into an angel of light " 

Spartacus, writing to Cato, fays, " There 
muft not a fingle purpofe come in fight that is 
ambiguous, and that may betray our aims 
againft religion and the ftate. That we may 
be uncontroled in our difcourfe, let our pu- 
pils remark that the fuperiors enjoy great la t- 
itude in that refpe& ; that we fometimes fpeak in 
one way ^ and fometimes in another , only "..to found 
the opinions of thofe we converfe with/' 
This the pupil is told ; but he is not told that 
the real defign is, to fecure a retreat, when 
they have incautioufly gone too far ; and to 
render their real fentiments impenetrable to 
.their inferiors."! 

Among the inftructions which Weifhaupt 
gives his difciples, " he exhorts, and ferioufly 
admonifhes thofe who have the care of rare 
books or precious manufcripts, in the libraries 
of princes, nobles, and religious orders, to 
take them for the benefit of thofe to whom 
4:hey would be more ufeful." Sending a lift 
of what he would have taken from the libra* 

.* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol* IV. Obfervation, p. 9. 
j Ibid. Vol. III. p* 177, Rotfifoii's Proofs, p. jiq. 



and Effects cf Illumhufm. 1 2 3 

ry of the Carmes, he fays, " all theft would be 
cf much greater ufe if they were in our hands* 
What do thofe rafcals do with all thofe books V 

Writing to Cato on the fame fubject he 
fays, " Marius (keeper of the archives of the 
Electorate) has ferreted out a noble document 
which we have got. He makes it, forfooth, 
a cafe of confcience. How filly that ; Alice 
only that is Jtn, which is ultimately productive 
of mifchief. In this cafe, where the advan- 
tage far exceeds the difadvantage, it is merito* 
rious virtue"* 

But not fatisfied with robbing mankind of 
their money and books, he contrived as uii- 
juftly to pilfer their fame, and appropriate to 
his order, their deferved reputation, At one 
time his direction is, " to endeavor to gain, or 
ruin every riling character/' At another, he 
gives the Regents the following inilruftions ; 
" It is very proper to make your inferiors be- 
lieve, without telling them the real ftate of 
the cafe, th#t all other fecret focieties, particu- 
larly that of Free Mafonry, are fecretly di- 
rected by us. Or elfe, and it is really the fact* 
in fome Itates, that potent monarch are gov- 
erned by our order. When any thing re- * 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 1 10. Barruel's Memoirs,. Vol, • 
HI. p. 57. 



* 24 Proofs of the Exigence 

markable or important comes to pafs, hini: 
that it originated with our order. Should any 
perfon by his merit acquire a great reputation , let it 
be generally underflood that he is one cfus"* 

There was found in the hand writing of 
Zwack, a project for a xifterhood. It contains 
the following paffages. " It will be of great 
fervice, and procure us. much information and 
money, and will fuit charmingly many of our 
trued members, who are lovers of the fex. It 
fheuld confift of two clailes, the virtuous, 
nnd the freer hearted j they muft not know 
* each other, and muft be under the direction 
of men, but without knowing it. Proper 
books muft be put into their hands, and 
fuch (but fecrctly). as are flattering to their 
pafiions." 

A lift and defcription of eighty five young 
ladies of Manheirn, was found with this pro- 
ject. Minos makes an offer of his wife, and 
Iiis four daughters in law to be the firft adepts. 
46 The eldeft," he fays, " is excellent. She is 
twenty four, has read much, is above all pre* 
judices, and in religion, thinks as I do J 9 

It appears that the inftitution of a lodge^ 
was attempted at Frankfort, and a difcourfe 3 

* Earners Memoirs, Vol.. III. P< 204, 



and Effeds of Illuminifm* 125. 

as delicate as the fentiments of fuch men could 
conceive, was prepared for the occafion. Af- 
ter much of the tortuous eloquence of Illumin- 
ifm, the orator thus addreffes his fair aflem- 
bly. " Rejoice in the dawn of Illumination 
and freedom. Nature at laft enjoys her facred 
never fading rights, Long was her voice kept 
down by civil iubordination ; but the days of 
your majority now draw nigh, and you will 
no longer, under the authority of guardians, 
account it a reproach to confider with ea- 
lightened eyes the fecret work {hops of na- 
ture, and to enjoy your work and duty." 
Minos thought this very fine, but it raifed a ter- 
rible difturbance, and broke up the affembly.* * 

Among thefe papers was likewiie found the 
defcription of a ftrong box* which, if forced 
open, would blow up and deftroy the con- 
tents ; fever al receipts for procuring abortion j 
a compofition which blinds or kills when 
thrown in the face ; a method for filling a bed 
chamber with peftilential vapors ; the fecret 
of taking off and imitating the impreffions of 
feals, fo as to ufe- them afterwards ; a coliec- 



l 2 



* Robifcn's Proofs, p, u 0, 137? 335, Bamiei's Vt& 
moirs^ .Vol, III, p. 24, 



126 Proofs of ihi. Exi/lence 

tion of one hundred and thirty feals of prin- 
ces, nobles, clergymen, merchants, &c. a re- 
ceipt ad excitandum furorem uterinam ; a 
roanufcript entitled, " Better than Horus," 
which contained all the blafphemies of athe- 
ifm ; a differ tation on filicide : alfo injunctions 
to all the fuperiors to learn to write with both 
hands ; and that they fhould ufe more than 
cypher. 

The reader, perhaps, will find it difficult to 
conceive how this horrid artillery could be 
made conducive to the ends which the order 
profeffed to have in view, the advancement 
of religion, and focial good. The Illumineea 
have furnilhed us with a folution. " This 
apparatus, they faid, was with propriety in 
the hands of counfellor Zwack who was a 
judge of a criminal court, and whofe duty it 
\yas to know fuch things." Admitting this, 
one thing Hill remains unaccounted for, viz e 
how they come to be put with the papers o£ 
the Illuminees ?* 

In confequence of thefe difcovenes, feme 
were depofed from offices they fuftained, and 
feveral baniihed. Apologies, and partial rep- 

* Rofeifun r 5 Proofs, p. in, 112. Barruel's Memoirs, 
Vol. IV, p. 167, 



and ' Effefls of Illuminifm. 12J 

refentations of Illuminifm were publifhed,, 
and great was the outcry of cruelty which 
refounded from all quarters ; while others, 
imputed the lenity of government on this occa- 
sion, to the inviiible influence which the order 
had gained over the meafures of the court** 

It appears that Illuminifm had made a prog- 
refs proportionate to the zeal of the aftors y 
Bavaria alone is faid to have contained about 
fix hundred. Three of the wttnefies above 
mentioned declare, u that while connected 
with the order, they were feveral times in- 
formed that it had extended to Italy, to Ven- 
ice, to Auftria, to Holland, Saxony on the 
Rhine, and even to America' 9 In the original 
writings feverallodges in America are put on 
the lift. This was before 1786, 

A report refpecting the progrefs of the or- 
der in Greece (Bavaria,) was found among 
the papers of Zwack, in his hand writing, 
w r hich prefents an alarming view of the prev- 
alence of Illuminifm, at a time when the 
public fcarcely knew that the order was in 
exiftence. After mentioning a number of 
lodges, under the direction of the Illumineea., 



* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol IV. Chap, 8, 



1 2 3 Proofs of the Exi/lencc 

in feveral parts of the electorate, it is noted, 
" At Munich we have bought an houfe, and 
have taken our meafures fo' well, that they 
even fpeak of us with efteem. This is a great 
deal for this city. We have a good mufeum of 
natural hiftory, and apparatus for experu 
ments. The garden is well occupied by bo- 
tanic fpecimens, and the whole has the ap- 
pearance of a fociety of zealous naturalifts." 

" The Dowager Duchefs has fet up her 
academy entirely according to our plan. All 
the Profeffors are of our order, and all the pu=* 
pils will be ours." 

" On the recommendation of the brethren^-. 
Bylades is made the ecclefiaftlcal fifcal councellor, 
and has the church money at his difpofaL 
By properly uiing this money, we have already 

repaired the mal-adminiftration of , and 

of ., and haveaffifted more brethren un- 
der fimilar misfortuneso" 

cc The brethren who are in orders have all' 
been provided with livings and curacies, or 
with preceptor's places." 

" All the German fchools, and the benevo- 
lent focieties, are at laft under our dire&ion," 



and Effefls of llluminifm. i z§ 

^ We {hall fhortly be matters of the 
Bartholomew inftitution for the education of 
young ecclejiatics* By this means ive Jhall be able 
to Jlock all Bavaria with priejls both clever and 
proper" 

" We have at length got the remaining 
revenues of the Jefults under the control 
of the order. This coft our fenate fome 
nights want of ileep."* 

This difcovery very much difconcerted the 
plans of the liluminees, but it did not alter 
their habits or principle?. Under a new name, 
and with new agents, we {hall find them, in 
the following chapter,, punning the fame ob- 
ject, and we fhall fee the long train which in- 
fidelity has been preparing., kindled into an 
explofion which has changed the face of Eu- 
rope, and been felt by remote nations. 

He who habituates his mind to ferious re- 
flections, and is fuitably difpofed to derive in- 
ftruclion from the fcenes around him, will 
find means of improvement, even among thefe 
difgufting objects. He will at leaft, feel his 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 155^ — -159. Earruel's Memoir^ 
VoLIV.p. 161,57—59. 



*3 & 



Proofs of the Exijlence- 



inactivity in a worthy caufe reproved, by the 
labors, the zeal, the unremitting perfeverance 
of thefe agents of definition ; for who can 
boaft an equal engagednefs, a mind equally 
awake to feize every opportunity and advan- 
tage, for promoting the caufe of religion and 
the good of fociety, with what thefe men dif- 
cover, in laboring for the deftruclion of both ? 




and Effects of IHumrniJh. i ? 



L .v 



CHAP. IX. 



The G E R MAN UN 10 N 



A note, tranfmitted from Germany 
to England, appeared in the Monthly Maga- 
zine of January, 1798 ; in which the public 
were aifured, " that from the beginning of 
tire year 1790, every concern of the Illumin- 
ati has ceafed, and no lodge of Free Mafons 
in Germany, has, fince that period, taken the 
leaft notice of them. 5 '* It is worthy of re- 
mark, that this certificate implicitly acknowl- 
edges, that until 1790, the Illuminees did ex- 
ift, and were connected with the lodges of 
Free Mafons in Germany ; yet thofe, who en- 
deavored to convince the public of their ex- 
iftence, at the time in which it is here ac- 
knowledged, were as contemptuoufly fcouted., 
£5 thofe are, who now believe the fubjed im- 
portant to mankind. 

* BarruePs Memoirs, Vol IF. p. iftfr 



i^2 



Proofs of the Emjfeence 



But are fuch men as Weifliaupt and his 
coadjutors, thus eaiily beat off from their 
purpofes ? Do fuch Ethiopians fo readily 
change their Ikin ? No, Weifhaupt himfelf, 
has fttfficiently, though unintentionally, warn- 
ed us not to depend on fuch declarations. 
Writing to Cato, he fays, " I have forefeeu 
every thing ; I have prepared every thingc 
Let my whole order go to rack and ruin ; in 
three years I will anfwer to reftore it, and 
that to a more powerful ftate than it was 
in before. Ob&acles only fiimulate my 
aclivity."* 

How far he was active, after his banifli- 
ment, in promoting the caufe of Iiluminifm, 
does not appear, but a new confederation, on 
fimilar principles, and purfuing the fame ob- 
ject, was formed, called the German Union. It 
was expedient that known Illuminees fhould 
take z lefs active part in this new arrange- 
ment. Probably the advice which was found 
Iii the hand writing of Cato, was adopted on 
this occafion, which was this : " In order to 
re-eftabiifh our affairs, let fome of the ableft of 
thofe brethren, who have avoided our misfor- 
tunes, take the place of our founders. 5 '! 

f Barrud's Memoirs, Vol IV. p« 1 30. f "Ibu^Jft J 7 S * 



and Effects of llluminifnu 133 

'The Illuminees, in projecting this fecond 
part, appear to have taken their clue from the 
following exifting circumftances. That fcheme 
of religion, which excludes from the gofpel all 
its peculiarities ;, had, for feme time, been mak- 
ing a rapid progrefs in Germany, One excefs 
led on to another, till doctrines were advanc- 
ed among the clergy, which would leave the 
iuperiority of Chriftianity, to natural religion, 
very doubtful. This tendency to infidelity, 
appears to have been, in a great degree, owing 
to the influence of the Anti-Chriftian conspir- 
acies, of which we have been fpeaking : but, 
however this may be, it was found to be a 
very convenient ftock on which to ingraft a 
branch of Illnminifm. An opportunity was 
now given, to fuch as -wiflied to extirpate 
Chriftianity, to take part with thofe divines 
%vho were ft riving to explain away its diftin- 
guifhing doctrines. 

On thefe circumftances was founded the 
idea of the German Union. A multitude of 
writers appeared who expreffed great zeal for 
Chriftianity ; but the manifeft object of this 
zeal was, to reduce it to a fyftem of natural 
religion. The Bible was explained, correct- 
ed, allegorized, and otherwife twifted, till 
the minds of men had hardly any thing l e ft 
u 



ij4 Proofs of the Exijlcnce 

to reft on, as a doctrine of revealed religion* 
This was a fignal for others to come forward, 
deny revelation, and affert that man had no 
other ground of confidence than the di£tates 
of natural reafon. Another fet of writers, 
proceeding from this as a point already fet- 
tled, profcribed all religion whatever, and 
openly taught the doctrines of materialifm and 
atheifm.* But it afterwards appeared, that 
thefe movements were the effects of combina- 
tion and deiign, and that an affociation was 
formed who were unitedly ftriving to drive 
things to this extremity. 

One Barth, a doctor of divinity in the 
univerfity at Halle, was the principal agent in 
this combination. He was an Illuminee, and a 
perfon of moft infamous morals. In this inftance 
Mr. Ebeling acknowledges, that, "As to Barth, 
Robifon is not very erroneous." But, even 
here, he appears much difpofed to palliate, 
and tells us that " Barth did not write againft 
religion ; but only attempted to modernife 
Chriflianiiy" He even feems to recommend 
his writings, from this confideration, that " He 
knew vice by experience ^ and could fhew all its 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 66 to 72.. Barruel's Memoir^ 
Vol, IV. p. 192 to 194. 



and Effects of Illumintfm. iy$ 

deformity." Yet even Mr. Ebeling does not 
pretend that he ever ceafed to love vice, or to 
practice it* 

The diffolutenefs of his morals had depriv- 
ed him of the means of a decent fubfiftence, 
when, on a fudden,he purchafed, near Halle, a 
large manfion, which he called Earth's ruhe. 
This became the head quarters of the Union. 
The management of this inflitution was com* 

o 

mitted to twenty two conductors, whofe 
agents were difperfed through the different 
towns. The perfons chiefly fought after, were 
authors, poll mailers, printers, andbookfellers. 
While every encouragement was given to 
thofe works which favored their defigns, it 
was found difficult, in fome inftances, to pro- 
cure the publication of works deiigned to cor- 
rect thefe evils. Every obilruction was given 
to the circulation of thofe of this defcription, 
which had come from the prefs ; and funds 
were to be eftablifhed to indemnify thofe 
bookfellers, who, inflead of felling fuch 
books, would conceal them in their fhops. 

But the principal means, on which they de- 
pended for corrupting the public mind, were 
literary focieiies, or reading clubs ; which they 
labored to fet up in every town, Thefe were 



136 Proofs of the Exiftence 

modifications of Weifhaupt's minerval fchools ; 
they became very numerous ; and it was the 
bufinefs of the fecretaries, and initiated book* 
fellers, to have them furnifhed with books of 
the moft Anti-Chriftian character. 

One of the vileft things, published on this 
occafion, was, the cc Edict for Religion, 5 ' writ- 
ten in derifion of fome regulations, publifiied 
by the king of Pruffia, under that title, Tin's 
v/as traced to Earth's ruhe. He was there- 
upon arretted, his papers feized, and he im- 
prifoned. This put a ftop to the bufinefs of 
the Union ; but Dr. Hobifon quotes perfons 
in high office at Berlin^ as agreeing in opinion, 
that the aiTociation of writers, and other tur- 
bulent perfons in Germany, has been but very 
faintly, hit by this blow, and isalmoft as active 
as ever.* 

As Mr. Ebellng fpeaks in the molt contemp- 
tuous manner, of Dr. Robifon's perfons in high 
eat Berlin^ I beg leave to introduce here^ 
the fentiments of fome of that court upon the 
fubje£i, and in particular, thofe of the king of 
Pruffia, whom Mr. Ebeling mentions in the 
higheft terms of refpect, and ranks with the 
beft of princes. 

* Proofs, p. 2 z 1 to. 245. Memoirs, Vol.. IV. p. 1 95 to. 204, . 



and Effeds of Illuminifm. 1 3 7 

The Chevalier Von Hamelberg, a major in 
the king of Pruflia's fervice, lately translat- 
ed Dr. Robifon's work into the German Ian- 
guage, and prefented a copy of the work to 
his fovereign, to which the king made the fol- 
lowing return : 

" My dear Major Hamelberg , 

" The work which you have tranflated and 
communicated to me, with your letter of 
March 3d, expofes the pernicious tendency of 
all fecret focieties in the cleareft light, and is 
entitled to a conflderable degree of merit with 
your countrymen, I, therefore, moft willing- 
ly exprefs my warmeil fatisfaftion, and moll 
fmcere thanks, for the copy which has been 
transmitted to me, and I hereby announce my 
approbation of the work, as your affectionate, 
king, FREDERICK WILLIAM.' 5 

Charlottenbuug, July ' 2 5, 1800, 

This was communicated to Dr. Robifon, in 
a letter from major Hamelberg. This letter is 
fo well calculated to throw light upon this 
fubjeft, that I cannot refrain fron introducing 
the more interefting parts of it. 



u 2 



J3S Proofs of the Exigence 

" Sir, 

"I have at laft, after a long fearch, fuceeed- 
ed in my endeavors to obtain your valuable 
work on the fecret focieties, which was fo 
thoroughly fuppreffed in Gennany, that it was 
not poflible to procure a copy of. As ibon as 
I obtained it, I communicated it to fome 
friends, as much diftinguifhed by their charac- 
ter as by their talents ; who, being all convinc- 
ed of its excellence, perfuaded me to tranflate 
it into German. As the whole merit of the 
work is yours, fir, I feel it to be my duty to 
fend you the enclofed anfwer from the king; 
my mafieiv And ihould you be of opinion that 
it will ferve the good caufe,you are at liberty to 
make any ufe of it which you may think proper* 
I think it neceffary, fir, to apprize you that I 
have added fome notes, and fome fads which 
have come within my knowledge, and which 
evidently prove (were any further proof re- 
quired) both the truth of your affertions, and the 
reality of the dangers to which the fovereigns, as 
well as the regular governments, are expofed 
wherever thefe focieties are tolerated. I beg 
you will be convinced, fir, of the diftinguiftied 
confideration with which I have the honor to 
be, fir, yours, &c. 

VON HAMELBERG.'* 

Minden, (Wejiphalla) July 27, 1800. 



and Ejfeds of Illuminifnu 139 

The preceding letters were communicated 
by Dr. Robifon to the editors of the Anti- 
Jacobin Review, and from that copied in the 
New England Palladium, of May 29, 1801. 

Thefe letters came attended with an anec- 
dote, which, though not fupported by equal 
vouchers, yet fo perfectly accords with the 
practices of the German Union, and fo fatis- 
faclorily accounts for the fcarcity of Robifon's 
work in Germany, as induces me to give it a 
place in the conclufion of this chapter. 

" Gofchen, a bookfeller at Leipzig, had 
engaged a perfon to make a hafty tranflation 
of ProfefTor Robifon's book, and nearly a doz- 
en fneets had been printed, when an English- 
man, who fpoke German with all the purity 
and fluency of a native, came to his houfe P 
and telling him, that he had himfelf already 
tranfiated the work, and that it would appear 
within a week, perfuaded Gofchen to fell him 
his edition, for a handfome price, which w r as 
immediately paid. By this means Gofchen's 
tranflation w r as fupprefTed, and the other never 
appeared. The fame thing, we have been a£ 
fured, occurred at Berlin/' 



T4o Proofs of the Exftmc? 



CHAP. X. 



The FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

IF the tendency of thofe principles 
which we have feen originating in France, 
and communicated from thence to the Ger- 
man lodges, is not already apparent, Ave have 
a fair experiment before us, which fully dis- 
covers their nature. We have the fruits, to 
enable us to judge of the qualities of the tree. 
It has been obferved, that the French lodges, 
already the nurferies of every infidel and licen- 
tious fentiment, had communicated to their 
German brethren thofe docirines, which the 
wicked ingenuity of Weifhaupt had wrought 
up into that fyfternatical procefs of corruption^ 
comprifed in Illuminifm. 

While thefe things were tranfa&ing in Ger- 
many, the fame principles were Spreading, 
gaining ftrength, and tending to an explofion 
in France. The French lodges had become 
Schools, not for promoting revolutionary opin- 
ions merely, but for training men to that 



and Effects of Illuminipn. 141 

Bardinefs in iniquity, that familiarity with 
blood and flaughter, that erafement of every 
natural affeftion, and fentiment of tendernefs 5 
which prepare men to plunge the poignard in- 
to a brother's breaft. How well thefe mafonic 
fchools were adapted to prepare men for fuch 
fcenes as have been exhibited in France, may 
be perceived from the following ceremony 
ufed in the Grand Orient* 

" A candidate for reception into one of the 
higheft orders, after having heard many 
threatenings denounced ao;ainft all who fhouid 
betray the fecrets of the order, was conducted 
to a place where he faw the dead bodies of 
feveral who were faid to have fuffered for 
their treachery. He then faw his own brother 
tied hand and foot, begging his mercy and 
interceffion. He was informed that this per- 
fon was about to fuffer the punilhment due for 
this offence, and that it was referved for him 
(the candidate) to be the inftrument of this 
juft vengeance, and that this gave him an op- 
portunity of manifefting that he was com- 
pletely devoted to the order. It being ob- 
ferved that his countenance gave figns of in- 
ward horror (the perfon in bonds imploring 
his mercy all the while) he was told, that in 
order to fpare his feelings, a bandage fhouid \ 



14 2 Proofs of the Exl/ience 

be put over his eyes. A dagger was then ptit 
into his right hand, and being hoodwinked, 
his left hand was laid on the palpitating heart 
of the criminal, and he was then ordered to 
ftrike. He inftantly obeyed ; and when the 
bandage was taken from his eyes, he faw that 
it was a lamb he had ftabbed."* 

Many of the French lodges needed not to 
be inftructed in Weifhaupt's theories, to qual- 
ify them for the higheft degrees of Illuminifm. 
The inftruclions of Voltaire had fufficiently 
difpoffeffed them of what, in the language of 
modern philofophy, is called prejudice and fu- 
perjlition, i. e. every fentiment of religious or 
moral obligation ; but a fyftem, and a regular 
fubordination and correfpondence, were want- 
ing to give thefe principles their full force. 

In this ftate of things, Mirabeau returned 
from Germany, highly illuminated: and, at his 
requeft, two of the German Areopagites, viz. 
Bode, and Baron de Bufche, met him in 
France, in 1788, to form the French lodges in- 
to a duly organized body. Their bufinefs was 
eafily tranfacled. Before the end of March, 
1789, the whole cf the Grand Orient, confift- 

* Roblfon's Proofs, p. 299, 



and Effefts of llluminifm. 143 

lug of 266 lodges, had the fecrets of Illumina- 
tion communicated to them.* By the means 
of fecret committees every part of this ex- 
tenfive body was in a ftate of clofe connection 
and correfpondence ; and it was in the power 
of the prime movers of this machine to direct 
the force of the whole to any point.f 

It is -not, however, to be underftood that 
every member of this body entered into the* 
views of the profound Illuminees. The Duke 
of Orleans himfelf, the Grand Matter of thefe 
lodges, deceived by the confpirators with the 
vain hope of afcending the throne of France^ 
was but the tool of their defigns. 

Under the direction of the German deputies, 
a club was formed at Verfailles, compofed of 
the moft profound adepts, called the Breton 
Club. This fociety, by means of its commit- 
tees in all the illuminated lodges, obtained a 
moft powerful influence in the affairs of the 
nation. The members of this club, compofed 
the leaders of a club, which afterwards met 
at the Convent of Jacobins in Paris, and from 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 287, 303 — 307. BarruePs Rfe| 
znoirs, Vol. IV. p. 210 — 213. 

t Ibid. p. 307 \ and Vol. II. p. 239. 



144 Proofs of the Exifioue 

that circumftance, was denominated the Jaco- 
bin Club. The proceedings of the National 
Convention were entirely fubject to the influ- 
ence of this ufurping confederacy ; and by 
their fecret agents, and committees they in- 
flamed the minds of the populace, and directed 
their blind rage at pleafure. It was the atro- 
cious meafures of thefe banditti which gave 
to the French revolution its peculiarly horrid 
features, and has attached perpetual infamy to 
the term Jacobin.* 

As a great variety of circumftances, too 
many to be introduced into this work, and 
which cannot be abridged without weakening 
their force, are adduced by Barruel, in proof 
of the influence of this illuminated fociety in 



* It is really a caufe of pain to the author, that he 
imds himfelf necessitated to introduce a term in a very 
•odious fenfe, which is ufed to diftinguhli the particular 
political opinions of fome of his countrymen, whom, 
whatever names they may hear, he regards as friends to 
religion, to order, and good government ; and he now 
gives notice that the term Jacobin, as here ufed, is to be 
confidered as applied, not to thofe who are innocently mif- 
led, but to thofe only who neither fear God, nor regard 
mam 

Robifon's Proofs, p. 3 1 1, 376. Barruer.3 Memoirs, 
Vol. IV. Chap. 11 and 12, 



and Ejfcds of Illuminijm. 145 

direcTmg the revolution ; I beg leave to ad- 
duce fome evidence of this fact from another 
quarter. 

That judicious and accurate obferver, John 
Moore, m. d. was, at the period of which we 
are fpeaking, occafionally in Paris, and fre- 
quently attended at the national affembly, and 
at the Jacobin club, and though then igno- 
rant of the fyftematical combination which 
guided the revolution, yet remarked, that 
" moft queftions of great importance are dif- 
cuffed in the Jacobin fociety of Paris, before 
they are introduced into the national affembly; 
and the fuccefs they are likely to have in the 
fecond, may be generally known by that 
which they have in the firft. Societies of the 
Tame name and nature are eftablifhed all over 
France, which hold a regular correfpondence 
with the parent fociety at Paris, and by mu- 
tually communicating information and ad- 
vice, ati with wonderful efficacy on import- 
ant cecaiions." 

He alfo quotes, with approbation, a letter 
from M. la Fayette, of June 16, 1792, who 
then perceived that he had been kept ignorant 
-of the real views of fome whom he had con- 
fidered as the friends of a juft and equal lib- 

N 



I 46 Proofs of the Exifience 

crty.. His expreflions are, " The Jacobin fac- 
tion has produced all the diforders ; it is that 
fociety which I loudly accufe of it. Organ- 
ized like a feparate empire, and blindly gov- 
erned by fome ambitious men, this fociety 
forms a diftinct corporation in the middle of 
the French nation, whofe powder it ufurps, 
and whofe reprefentatives it fubdues." This 
letter proved the ruin of the Marquis.* 

The American Revolution doubtlefs haftened 
the final cataftrophe of affairs in France. The 
French officers and foldiers, by the new ideas 
which they had acquired in America, of lib- 
erty and the rights of man, were prepared to 
efpoufc this caufe in their own country. It 
is obvious, however, that the aim of the 
leaders in France was not to deftroy the 
power which opprefied the nation, but to 
transfer that power into their own hands. 
Fayette and his companions became tools of 
their ambitious defigns ; and, when they had 
acted the parts affigned them, were facriftced.* 
Nothing was further from the views of the 
French nation, at the beginning of the revolu- 
tion, than what has taken place. The object 
held up to them was perpetually varying. 

f Moore's Jour. Vol. I. p. 67—70. Bolton cdi. 1794^ 



cirvd Effefis of Hlwninifin. 147 

They were firft illuminated, literally blind- 
folded and wheedled, till by bribes, by thread 
enings, and by having their paffions inflamed 
by falfe reprefentations 3 they were prepared 
to follow their leaders. 

How different were the circurtiftances at- 
tending the American revolution ? Here the* 
object in view was clear and definite. The 
public will was one, and that will was faith- 
fully executed. Accordingly, thofe who firft 
ftood forth the defenders of their coun- 
try's rights, acquired an influence, a reputa- 
tion, and an intereft in the public confidence,* 
which furmounted all oppofition, and which 
remained, unimpaired, during, the whole rev- 
olution^ 

The caiife of this diffimilarity, in the two 
revolutions, is evident. In America, the 
ftruggle was the refult of a genuine fpirit o£ 
freedom, feeking the protection of its rights, 
in equal laws ; in France, it was the refult of 
a faction, facrificing to its deteftable views 
the moft facred rights of man, and crufhing 
all who oppofed its ambitious defigns. The 
friends of moderation, of juftice, and a ra- 
tional liberty, when they ceafed tofecondthe 
views of the confpirators were profcribed, 



T$8 Proofs of the Exficnce 

and the illuminated chiefs, by means of the 
xnafonie lodges, governed the nation. 

Dr. Robifon, on the authority of Mr. Le^ 
franc, Prefident of thefeminary of the Eudifts 
at Caen, in Normandy, and of Mr. Latocnaye, 
an emigrant gentleman, reprefents France as 
a vaft mafonic combination, direfted by fecret 
influence. In proof of this it is obferved, 
" that all the irreligious and feditious doc- 
trines of the day, and the en thufi attic princi- 
ples by which the public mind was, as it were, 
let on fire, were the fubje<5ts of perpetual har- 
angues in the Mafon lodges \ that the diftri- 
;on of France into departments, diftriefcs,. 
circles, cahtons, &c. is perfectly fimilar, and 
with the fame denominations, to a diftribution 
which he had remarked in the correfpondence 
of the Grand Orient ; that the Prefident 's 
hat, in the national affembly, is copied from 
that of a Grand Mafter ; that the fcarf of a 
municipal officer is the fame with that of a 
brother apprentice ; that when the affembly 
celebrated the revolution in the cathedral, 
they accepted of the higheft honors of Ma- 
fonry, by paffing under an arch of fled ^ formed 
by the drawn fwords of two ranks of breth* 
ren 5 andthat the nationalaffembly protected the 



and Effects of lllumlnlfnu 149 

meetings of Free Mafons, while it perempto- 
rily prohibited every other private meeting 



>>* 



It was a difcovery of the horrid defigns of 
thefe condu&ors of the French revolution, 
and not, as fome pretend, a- dereliction of the 
principles of liberty, which has alienated the 
virtuous part of cur countrymen from their 
attachment to the caufe of France. "When it 
was announced in America, that millions of 
Frenchmen were ftriving for freedom, who 
did not beftow a benediction on their caufe, 
and fervently pray for its fuccefs ? The tri- 
umphs of France, were celebrated here with 
real joy, and her misfortunes were lamented, 
as our own. Long did we ftrive to palliate 
her crimes, and long did we invent excufes 
for her enormities. But when at length the 
mafk fell off, and we faw in the boafted friend 
of his country the difgufting atheift, the fac- 
tious leader, the man who could fmile at car- 
nage, and feaft on havock and war, our feelings 
revolted ; we could no longer receive as 
brethren, men who proved themfelves the 
enemies of religion, of order, of humanity* 

N 2 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 294 — 298, 



• 



i $b , L J roofs of the E < 

The co-operation of the Iiluminees of other 
nations, and their joint exertions to extend the 
revolution, prove that it was the work of that 
order ; and that France was no lefs indebted 
to her fecrct agents than to her martial prow- 
efe, for the unexampled fuccefs of her arms. 

At the commencement of the revolution, a 
nvr.r.ifeftowasfentfromthe grand national lodge 
of Free Mafons, (fo it is entitled) at Paris, 
iigned by the Duke of Orleans, as Grand Maf- 
1 er, addreffed to the lodges in all the refpeft- 
able cities of Europe, exhorting them to 
unite for the fupport of the French revolu- 
tion, and to kindle a fpirit of revolution 
through all lands ; fame of thefe were ad^ 
ckefied to thofe, of whofe afiiftance tliey were 
allured, and to fuck were given earneft ex- 
hortations to ejiablijh) in every quarter , fecrei 
'h of * political education; crnd f chock for the educa- 
tion of children, under thedireftion of well difcipllned 
mqfters ; and ojfersof pecuniary ajfiftance for this pur-- 
poj1\ and for the encouragement of writers in favor of 
the revolution* and for patriotic boo/ fellers, whofuffer 
by their endeavors to fupprefs publications which have 
an oppofite tendency. All this is genuinellluminifm 9 , 
and may help us to account for the myfterious 
fcarcity of Dr. Robifon's work in Germany,-* 

• Seepage 138. 



and Effects of Ittuminijni* rcr 

Among many other foreign lodges, the 
grand national lodge at Paris, had the partic- 
ular direction of a club, in the form of a ma~ 
fonic lodge, called Propaganda^ which met 
weekly, and had its agents and emiffaries in 
all parts of Europe, 

Thefe facts are collected from a Hamburg 
journal, for 1790, and from a publication of 
ProfeiTor Hoffman, whom the liluminees had 
long thriven to gain to their interefts, and who 
was employed by the more refpectable Mafons, 
to make public thefe machinations of the 
occult lodges, The refult of his inquiries 
was, " that the Propaganda works in every 
corner to this hour, and its emi-Saries run 
about irr all the four quarters of the globe r 
and are to be found in numbers in everv city 
that is a feat of government/'* 

Thefe mviiible agents were by no m 
idle or unfuccefsful. There is reafon to be- 
lieve that France was much indebted to 
them for their progrefs in Germany, Holland, 
Italy, and other parts. The proofs brought 
in fupport of thefe facts are too much involv- 
ed with circumftances to find a place here. 

# Robifon's Proofs, p, 315 — 319. Barruel's Memoirs, 
Vol. IV. p. 283, 306, 



ij2 Proofs of the Exijience 

One curious inftance, however, related in a 
book called Paragraphen ; in another per- 
formance, with the title of Cri de la Raifon ; 
and in a third, called Les Mafques arrachees, 
muft not be omitted. The inftance referred 
to, is the following. 

Cuftine was accufed before the revolution- 
ary tribunal of treachery, by Zimmerman;, 
for refufmg the offer of Manheim, when he 
himfelf engaged to deliver it into his hands, 
Cuftine's anfwer is remarkable. " Hardly," 
faid he, " had I fet my foot in Germany^ 
when this man, and all the fools of his coun* 
try, befieged me, and would have delivered up 
to me their towns and villages. What occafion. 
had I to do any thing to Manheim, when the 
prince was neutral ?"* 

Tliefe fecret agents of Illuminifm, appear 
to have had another objeft attached to their 
million, viz. the removal of thofe who flood 
much in the way of the revolution. When 
it w r as underftood that Guftavus III, king of 
Sweden, was to command the confederate ar- 
mies, Ankerftroem, by the expeditious procefs 

* Robifon's Proofs, p. 311 — -313. Bairuel's Memoir% 
Vol. IV. Chap. 13. 



anJEffeJs of niumnifnu r^ 

*>f affaffination, relieved the Jacobins from 
their fears, and in recompense they honor 
him with a ftatue.* 

When the expected union of the emperor 
of Germany and the king of Pruflia, alarmed: 
the Jacobins, the following comfortable re- 
flections were annexed to the account in a 
Strafburgh Journal, No. $y "In thofe coun^ 
tries , where the fate of fever al millions of % men , hangs 
on a bit of pafle, cr on the rupture of a little vein? 
one can calculate on nothing. Afingle mdige/lion> or 
a drop of blood forced from its proper veffels^ will 
be f efficient to difolvethis brilliant union" This 
comment on the expected union was dated from 
Vienna, the 26th of February, 1792- Leo- 
pold died (poifbned) on .'the lft of March 
following.! 

On the fucceeding Auguft, it was mot£on> 
ed in the national affembly, " To levy a body 
of twelve hundred patriotic volunteers, by a 
penfion of two thoufand livers yearly, with a 
reverfion to their children to the third gener- 
ation j whofe bufinefs it fhould be to aftafiin- 

* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. I. p. 123. f Ibid. Vol. 
IV- p. 308. Travels of two Frenchmen in the North,- 
Vol. V, Chap. 12: 



154 Proofs of the Exijtence 

ate the generals and princes who commanded 
the armies which attacked France. An ap- 
prehenflon of reprifals prevented the adoption 
of the propofal." Mr. Moore in his account of 
this bufinefs, adds this circumftance, " That 
though it did not pais in the affembly, it 
was by them fent to the commifiion extra-- 
ordinaire. "* 

The fate of the emperor taught his young, 
fucceffor more caution. His fa* ft care was to 
difmifs all the Italian cooks, that lie might not 
become a viftim to what was called the Naples 
broth.\ The Illuminee, who believes all means 
lawful for the attainment of a good end, can 
feel no remorfe for fuch deeds of darknefs y 
but, for the honor of modern times, it is de- 
firable that our hiftory fnould not be flamed 
with many fimilar fatts. 

* Moore's Journal, Bolton edit. 1794. Vol. I. p. 
128 — 131. 

f BarruePs Memoirs, Vol IV. p. 508. Robifon's- 
Froofs,p. 311. 



md Effects of Ilhtminifm. 155 



CHAP. XL 



_A Summary View of llluminlfm. 

1 HESE are the leading features of that 
fyftem of deception in which we fee the ene- 
mies of religion quitting the open field of ar- 
gument, in which they have fo often been 
defeated, and flying to the arts of fophiitry, 
corruption, and concealment. But it is not 
from a curfory glance that we can acquire a 
juft idea of the depths of that wicked fubtlety 
.comprifed in Illuminifm, Let us take a view 
of this deftru&ive engine in a more compact 
operation. 

Imagine an illuminated Infinuator attack- 
ing a youth of talents and principle, in whom 
the moral fenfe of right and wrong is yet 
vigorous ; for it is for the feduction of fuch, 
more particularly, that the artful procefs of 
Illumination is defigned. From this Infinua- 
tor he hears, as by accident, however, that 
thefe are fchools of wifdom, feats of fcience, in 



tf 5^ Proofs of the Ex>ficxcc 

which the wife and good are uniting for the 
important end of fccrelly ruling mankind, and 
thus delivering them from thofe calamities, 
for which all other means are found to be in- 
effectual. If, by fuch fuggeflions, he is led 
to exprefs a defire to become a member of this 
fociety, the Infinuator promifes his utmoft af- 
fiftance ; but he is told, that this is the reward 
only of long approved merit. 

To excite his curiofity, it is intimated, that 
there exift do&rines folely tranfmitted by 
iccret traditions, becaufe they are above the 
compreheniion of common minds ; and let- 
ters, filled with myflerious characters, are, as 
it were incautioufly, expofed to his view. To 
increafe his ardor to become a member, the 
Infmuator expatiates frequently on the fu- 
preme pleafure of fecretly reigning ; and re- 
marks, that it is eafy for one man of parts to 
lead thoufands, if he but knew his own ad- 
vantages. That he may be led to confider the 
inter ells of the order as his own, he is told of 
its readinefs and power to protect him, and 
fecure his fuccefs in all the purfuits of life, 
(^ueftions of the moft enfnaring nature are 
propofed to difcover his fentiments, and books, 
fecretly conveying the poifon of infidelity, are 
made ufe of to corrupt them* If he difcovers 



and Effects of Ilium 157 

cafe part, it is noted for a point of attack* 
If he expreffes a doubt refpcdting any of the 
important principles of religion and morality^ 
he is fare of being applauded for his ftrength 
of mind in riling above the prejudices of edu- 
cation, which he is often told, are the fources 
of all our errors. He is placed in fituations 
where he hears the mofl artful fophiftry ufed 
to prove, that patriotifm and private afreciions 
are narrow minded prejudices ; that the bonds 
of marriage and parental authority are em> 
croachments on the natural rights of man; 
that fuicide is lawful ; that fenfual pleasures 
correfpond with -the law of nature, and that 
it is proper to employ, for a good purpbfe, 
thofe means which wicked men ufe for evil 
purpofes. 

While every art is thus employed to under- 
mine the principles of morality and religion, 
his fears are lulled by conftant declamations 
on the excellence of virtue, and the highly- 
honorable, and moft ufeful and benevolent in- 
tentions of the fuperiors of the order* It is 
one of the prime arts of Illuminifm to extol 
the name of virtue, in general, and at the faqae 
time, to fap its foundation in every particular. 
The object is continually varying, and the 
mind, led by new invented fyftems and 
o 



1 5 5 ¥ roofs of the Esifiencc 

explanations, in athoufand different directions* 
is, at length, totally bewildered, and all clear 
diftin&ion between truth and error is loft. 
How can the unwary youth cfcape thefe 
fnares fo artfully fpread, and fufficient, indeed, 
c; if it nvere poffibkp to deceive the very cleft ?" 

And what could have -been- the defign of 
this fubtle procefs of deception, of all thefe 
ftudied phrafes, and nicely adjufted degrees ■? 
Were they defigned merely to difcover the in- 
genuity of the contriver ? Or, did he who 
contrived them, in fact, contemplate fome 
great revolution, which rendered the intro- 
duction of all this machinery neceffary ? The 
latter is not denied by thofe/who moft zeal- 
oufly advocate the innocence of llluminifm. 
They w r ere intended, they acknowledge, to 
demolifh the ftrong holds of fuperftition and 
defpotifm. But when the mind is difpoffeffed 
x>f all that thefe terms imply, in the language 
of llluminifm, what remains ? What religious 
principle, moral fentiment, or focial affe&ion, 
can exift in that heart which has been the fub- 
j^ct of this truly diabolical renovation ? 

Wc*e this queftion f^tcpofed to an Illu- 
minee, his anfwer doubtlefs would be, What 
can exift ? The nobleft of all affections, the 



. J Effeds of Blumhilfnu I $g* 

ftim of all virtue, Cofmopditifm. Far from 
difcarding virtue, we only are her true \vor~ 
Slippers, who erect her temple, not on the nar- 
row foundation of private affection, but on 
the broad bafis of univerfal love. 

As this term comprises every thing of duty 
and moral obligation to which the Illuminee 
makes any preteniions, it becomes neceffary, 
in order to our forming a judgment of that 
fyftem, that this boafted virtue fhould pais n- 
more particular examination, 

A Cofmopolite, then, is a citizen of the' 
world, or one who has banifhed from his 
bread all partial private affections; One who 
loves his country, his -family, his friends, and 
benefactors, only as they are parts of the 
whole, and can facrifice them without rernorfe, 
whenever he conceives it will be promotive of 
the general good.- The adoption of this nom- j 
inal, but fictitious virtue, for inch it is when 
oppofed to private duties, is an inftance of art 
not exceeded by any of the iubtleties of Illu- 
minifm. Its piaufibility renders it a conven- 
ient maik for men, deftitute of real good, who 
wifh to be thought poffeffed of the moft exalt- 
ed virtue. It is a garment fuited to all the 
lorms which thefe modern Proteufes can wiih 



160 Proofs of the L 

to affumc. It is a term replete with faU 
and deception, and is made to mean nothing 
or any thing, as the illuminated poileflbr 
pleafes. 

A principle of univerfal benevolence, or 
good will to being in general, doubtlefs enters 
into mpolition ; and, indeed, forms the 

foundation of all right fociai affe&ions. He 
who loves his friend merely from this consid- 
eration, that he is his friend, has no love to him 
as a fellow creature, and therefore, is deititute 
of right fociai affections.* But how is this 
principle of univerfal benevolence to be ex- 
preffed ? In the fame manner as the foldier 

* A late E,:rcj-e t ;n writer on this fubjecl: obferves, that 
u Extended benevolence is the lad and mod perfect fruit 
of the private affe&iOhs :" but if the tree be deftroyed the 
fruit certainly miift fail. And thus, according to this 
theory, if all private relations, and therewith private affec- 
tions are deftroyed, extended, or univerfal benevolence 
cannot exift, unlefs t&ere can be fruit without a tree, or an 
effect without a caufe. See Hall's Sermon on Infidelity, 
P a ge 39- 

My difapprobation of this fentiment, in which I have 
taken the liberty to diifent from this juftly celebrated 
writer, gives me an opportunity, which I gladly embrace, 
to recommend this moil excellent performance, as merit- 
ing at all times, and at the prefent in particular, the ?:' 
tion of mankind. 



and Effects of lHuminifhi. 1 6 x 

exprefies his attachment to the caufb in which 
he is engaged, and to the army of which he is 
a member ; by firmly maintaining his poft, 
and faithfully executing the orders of his com- 
mander. To promote the general interefts of 
mankind is to difchargje the duties of our re- 
fpeciive ftations ; extending occafional aid, as 
opportunity offers, to our fellow creatures in 
diftrefs* On the contrary, he who neglects 
the duties of his private fphere, ferves the pub- 
lic as the foldier does his caufe, who fori:- I 
his poft, and wanders through the ranks cre- 
ating diforder and confufion. 



o 



Such is the modern Cofm'opoiite. Having 
effectually eradicated all thofe narrow minded 
prejudices which lead other men to be grate- 
ful to their friends, to provide for their fami-. 
lies, and to ferve their country, his talk of 
fociai duty is at an end, unlefs he fancies that 
he is bound to labor for the general good, by 
forming theories, projectirfg revolutions, or 
removing the prejudices of mankind. The 
things laft mentioned, become his duty, on 
his iyftem, whenever he is pleafed to fancy 
that they will be promotive of the general 
good ; which juftifies the affertion, that Co£ 
mopolitifm fignifies nothing, or any thing 5 as 
the poileffor pleafes, , 

02 



1 62 Proofs of the Exiftence 

The Cofmopolite, fcorning the narrow 
fpher'e of private duties which Providence has 
appointed him, afcends the throne of the Su- 
preme Ruler, and upon the great fcale of uni- 
verfal being, judges for himfelf, what part be- 
longs to him on the theatre of life. 

On this ground we find Weifliaupt juftify- 
ing his attempt to procure an abortion. He 
confidently pleads, that what he did in that 
affair, was no more than what he ought to 
have done to fecure his character, and fecms 
to claim no fmall degree of praife for doing 
io much to preferve the order, of which he 
was the founder, and which would have fiif* 
fered extremely by his lofs of reputation. The 
fame principle, in his view, would juftify his 
adepts, in plundering mafbnic funds, ecclefl- 
sftical revenues, and books and writings from 
libraries. It was lawful, for the fame reafon, 
to deftroy the reputation of fuch as were op- 
pofed to his ordel^ and to make ufe cf pious 
frauds to overcome men's prejudices againfl: 
the do&rines of Illuminifm. Such practices, 
which mankind have been accuftomed to rep*, 
xobate, were deeds of virtue in Weiihaupt's 
view, when done to promote the interefts of 
an inftitution calculated for the advancement 
of human happinefo 



and Effects of IHuminifrh. 1 6$ 

France reafoned in the fame manner. Hav- 
ing eftabliihed this principle, that her revolu- 
tion included whatever could exalt, refine, or 
blefs mankind, in the fulnefs of her Cofmo- 
politifm, Ihe fwore eternal enmity to kings ; 
fent forth her emiffaries to promote in other 
nations, infurrections againft government ; 
proffered protection and affiance to all pro- 
moters of revolutions, and even forced confti- 
tutions, framed in Paris, on thofe who neither 
defired, or would have received them but 
under the terrors of the bayonet. Thefe be- 
nevolent plans have, indeed, been productive 
of the moil cruel exactions, robberies, aflaf- 
finations, violations of treaties, and indefcrib- 
able fcenes of mifery ; but it is a narrow 
minded prejudice, the French Philofopher will 
tell you, to compare thefe partial evils with 
the bleiTinp;s of a revolution. This, eentle 
reader 5 is Cofmopolitifm. 

It is happy that thefe Cofoiopclites cannot 
communicate their principles to the brutal 
race 5 left they, leaving their proper charge to 
perifh, fhould beftow their care where it is not 
needed. No ; the great Author of nature, 
by indelible inftinft, has taught them the fame 
lefibn of wifdom which he has addreffed to 
©ur underftitndings, " Lei every one provide far 



1 04 Proofs of the Ex i/ten 

his oi^n houfe" It is happier ftill that they 
have not been able to tranfinit their univerfai 
benevolence to other worlds, and to perfuade 
the great luminary of our fyftem to wander 
from his orbit, leaving us to froft and dark- 
nefs, to revolutionize other fyftems. No ; 
every creature, which has not rebelled a^ainft 
the firft great law of order, promotes the gen- 
eral good, by abiding in its prefcribed fphere 
of action. Wherever this law is tranfgreffed 
ruin and mifery will be the confequence. 

This is the evidence on which we are to 
form our judgment of the nature and tenden- 
cy of llluminifm ; and what do we fee, but a 
dcilruclive combination againft the moft pre- 
cious intcrefts of mankind ? It appears, that 
the real nature and tendency of llluminifm is 
to be found, by precifely reverfing its oftenfi- 
ble aim, and the pretended object of its advo- 
cates. 

By univerfai citizenfhip and diiinterefted 
love, the Illuminee intends the deftruclion of 
all whom he cannot render the dupes of his 
defigns. Morality, with him, means the un- 
bounded indulgence of every corrupt bias of 
human nature, only preferring fach an fckte* 



and Effects of lllumhiifnu 165' 

rior as fhall better enable him to impofe on 
mankind. The glorious emancipation from 
fiavery, to which he invites men, confifts in 
the blind fubjection of all their actions to the 
unknown fuperiors of the order. His human- 
ity is the extinction of every tie of nature, of 
every focial affection ; even marriage is, in the 
view of the Illuminee, an unfufterable monop- 
oly, and every check to a brutal indulgence of 
the fexual affections, a fpecies of tyranny, 
His philofophy confifts of theories contra- 
dicted by univerfal experience. His religion is 
atheifm dreffed to the tafte of the fcrupulous 
confeience. His ufeful and important difcov- 
eries, are new means of aflaffination, abortion, 
and peculation. His Creator is chance ; and 
his future glorious hope, everlafting fieep. 

The original fource of Illumhiifm, and the 
principle which, in a greater or lefs degree, 
influences ail who are actuated by its genuine 
fpirit, doubtlefs, is an innate enmity to Chrift- 
ianity, and a defire tabe free from the checks 
which its holy doctrines oppofe to the corrup* 
tions of the heart. 

Motives different from this have, however^ 
united their operation in extending, this com* 



1 66 Proofs of the Exijlcnce 

bination, efpecially in its hoflility to fecial or- 
der, and an energetic government* Men who 
wife to poffefs property for which they have 
ttoi labored, and men of property who want 
power, thefe, and men who never enjoy them- 
felves but in a ftorm, and whofe revolutionary 
minds could not reft even in the calm of Fara- 
dife 5 all of this defcription, find their feveral 
ends promoted by diilurbing the peace of fo- 
ciety, removing the ancient land-marks, over- 
turning ufeful eftablifhments, and breaking 
down the barriers which have fecured the 
htts and property of mankind. 

For efFe&ing thefe defigns, Illuminifm fur- 
nilhes a moil artful and fyftematic procefs. It 
fapplies the want of power, by fubtle infinua- 
tions. k teaches to bind men with invifible 
bands \ to govern them by their prejudices 
and paffions, and to delude them by a falfe 
light, perpetually varying the object of pur- 
suit, until the mind is loft in endlefs wander- 
ings, and deprived cf every permanent prin- 
ciple of action. 

Another obfervable trait in the character of 
thefe deceivers is, their pretended attachment J 
to the caufe they fecretly endeavor to under- 



and Effects of lllumhufnu 



167 



mine. Judging from their declarations, they 
appear the firm friends of government and re- 
ligion, at the fame time that they are plying 
every fecret art to effect their deftru&ion. 
Thefe " pious frauds muft indeed be explain- 
ed away/ 3 but this is eafily done among thofe 
to whom they have communicated the fpirit 
of the order, 




Proofs of the Exf 



CHAP. XII. 



OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 

1 AM fenfible that great efforts have 
been made, both in Europe and America, to 
convince mankind of the harmlefs nature 
of Illuminifm, and that its operation, whatever 
its tendency was, has long fince ceafed. But 
the w r onderful zeal and bitternefs, which 
have been exhibited on this fubject, inflead of 
abating, juftly increafe fufpicion. If my neigh- 
bor fancies himielf befet with ghofts and hob- 
goblins, I may well pity him, and endeavor to 
remove the painful illufion ; but is there any 
caufe for bitter refentment ? Shall I be at the 
pains of inventing, and circulating falfehoods 
to convince mankind that my neighbor's fears 
are imaginary ? That falfehoods of the groffefl 
nature have been moil induftrioufly propagat- 
ed, and vengeance of the moil horrid kind 
denounced againft thofe who have expreffed 
their apprehenfions of the deftruftive effects 
of Illuminifm ? are facts, But why is it thus. 



and Ej/lcls of llluiuhujvi. iGg 

if Illuminifm is that filly, barmlefs tale which 
by fome it is represented to he ? Or why was 
not Robifon's work to be found in Germany: 
This is not the way to remove jealoufies. 
Where there is fuch a fluttering and outcry, 
we naturally conclude that fome are deeply 
wounded. 

The peculiar invifibility of this order muft 
greatly invalidate the moft pofitive declara- 
tions in its favor, however honeftly intend- 
ed. Admitting that Mr. Ebeiing, in particu- 
lar, is, as he afferts, neither an Illuminee nor a 
Mafon, and that his declarations on this fub- 
ject are the refult of conviction, muft this be 
admitted as conclufive evidence ? A fimilar 
declaration has been made by many, in the 
uprightnefs of their hearts, who have been ad- 
mitted even to the threshold of the niyfteries ; 
for they have all along had the moft pofitive 
sffuranccs,. that the obj^ft of the order was 
the advancement of civil and religious liberty, 
in their moil perfect degrees. 

Did thofe adepts, who retained their refpecffc 
for the fcriptures, believe that they were fivp- 
porting a fyftem of Spinozifm ? or did initi- 
ated princes believe that they were protecting 



Proofs of the Exiftencc 

an order which was aiming to reduce them to 
the rank of plebeians ? Yet perfons of each of 
the above defcriptions gave their warm fup- 
port to this Anti-Chriftian, diforganizing con- 
federacy. Is then the judgment of profeflbr 
>eline to be deemed infallible ? 

From the peculiar nature of the fubject, it 
hvious, that witneffes of the higheft credi- 
bility in other matters, cannot be depended on 
in this ; here is fo much collufion, art, and 
-ftudicd concealment, that nothing but ftub- 
bom facts, their own writings, and fecret, 
confidential communications, can be reafona^ 
bly admitted to be of weight in determining 
the views of this order. 

If Mr. Ebeling's proximity to the fcene of 
ciion, afforded him feme fpecial advantages 
for eftimating circumflantial evidence, is he 
jnot likewiie expofed, from this fituation, to 
fome peculiar difadvantages ? Doubtlefs he 
had frequent, and moil pofitive affurances 
from many worthy and good men, men as 
deferving the chara&er 5 at leaft, as Weifliaupt, 
of whom he fpeaks fo refpectfully,that Illumin- 
iim was perfectly harmlefs, and even highly 
beneficial to mankind. Is it not very poffible 
fchat fuch declarations, made with that fubtle 



and Effects of iiluinln>fnu- 

fophiitry, and plaufibility in which lUuminifm 
fo much abounds, fhould bias the judgment 
of the charitable profeffor i Then, in propor- 
tion to his nearnefs to the faggefted, but un« 
difcovered, danger, he would naturally be- 
come confident that it did not exift. It cer- 
tainly adds importance to thefe observations, 
that others, who had at leaft equal advantages 
with Mr. Ebeling to judge of the real views of 
thefe confpirators, yet differed much from i 
him in opinion, 

But can thefe things be real ? Can hum; 
nature be fo debafed, fo loft to every princi- 
ple, not of religion only, but of fecial virtue ?" 
Or could any perfon, capable' of inventing 
fuch a fyftem, imagine that it was practicable, 
and that any confiderable number of mankind 
would fubmit to fuch abominable impofitions ? 
Thefe reflections, I confefs,. are, to this mo-- 
ment, prefiing on my mind, and raife a mo- 
mentary doubt, which nothing but the mteft 
clear and indubitable evidence can remove* 
But this doubt, we find upon reflection, ariics 
more from the novelty of the f abject, than 
from any thing in it that is really incredible, h 
not all wickednefs,madnefs and folly? Is not the 
want of opportunity and abilities, the real caufe 
why mankind do not exhibit more frequent 
inftances of mifchievous madnefs ? Does the 



172 Proofs of the Exigence 

hiftory of pad ages leave us room to wonder 
at any act of extravagance, which is credibly 
attefted, becaufe it is in the higheft degree un- 
reafonable, and deftructive, both to the perpe- 
trator and Ms fellow creatures ? If revelation 
has not lufliciently taught us what is in man, 
the French revolution may furely convince us, 
that there is no jfpecies or degree of wicked- 
nds, within the compafs of human ability, 
which is beyond the corruption of the human 
heart. Every impious, immoral, cruel, and 
difoi ng fentiment, ever taught in the 

fehool of Spartacus, has been exemplified in 
late tranfactions which have taken place in 
Europe. 

It is not, indeed, to be fuppofed that all the 
proceedings of the fociety were minutely con- 
formable to the adopted fyftem : we know 
they were not. The machine was too un- 
wieldy to be applied in all cafes. The heads 
of the order referved a right of deviating 
according to their judgment of circumftances. 
Some needed not Weilhaupt's procefs of 
Induction, to prepare them for the higheft myf- 
teries of Illuminifm. A complete fyftem may 
be ufeful as a general directory, even when it 
is not brought into univerfal operation. In 
thisinftance the vanity of the author, doubtlefs 
excited him to render his work perfect, and 



and Effeds of Ilhiminifnu 173 

conne&ed in all its parts. The objection 
which fome make to the exiftence of Illumin- 
ifm, that it is too complicated and cumber-- 
fome ever to attain the object afcribed to the 
projector, cannot be important, 

While the Illuminees complain of great 
feverity in the proceedings of the government 
againft their order, others, judging of the 
degree of the crime by the punifhment, con- 
clude, from the lightnefs of the latter, that the 
former could not be equal to what has been 
represented, Deprivation of office, imprifon-- 
ment, and fome inftances of banifiiment, 
appear indeed to have been punifnments inade- 
quate to fuch attrocious confpiracies, Wei- 
fhaupt himfelf expected nothing ihort of the 
gallows in cafe of his dete&ion, That his 
expectations were not realized, was, doubtlefs, 
owing in part, to the fecret influence of UIu~ 
minifm over the meafures of government; and 
ftill more, to the many refpectable characters 
found to be partially involved, which render- 
ed it expedient that the fubjeft ihould be 
treated with all pofTxble lenity. 

In addition to this, it is to be obferved, that 
the weaknefs and inferiority of many of the 
German principalities, reduce them to the 
p % 



174- Proofs of the Exiftcnco 

neceflity of accommodating the meafurc 
government to particular circumftances. On 
the authority of private letters from Germany, 
Barruel relates, That the Duke of Brunfwick, 
in particular, j.uftified his not proceeding t<t> 
extremities with the Illuminees in his flates, 
by faying, " Suppoling I fliould fend- them 
away 5 they woujd only go elfewhere and calum- 
niate me ;" adding, " a league ought to be en- 
tered into by the German princes, to fuller 
them in no part of the Empire."* 

' Barrr.el's Memoirs, Vol. IV. p. 317. 




and Effeds of illuminfiu 1 7 5 



CHAP. XIII, 



Collateral Proofs, and General Qbfervaiions, in re/a-> 
iion to Europe. 

I HE evidence, and authentic documents^ 
which have been exhibited, it is conceived are 
fuch, as can leave no doubt of the exiftence 
and aftive operation of IUuminifm from 17765 
until thefe works of darknefs were brought 
to light, and their promoters compelled to 
change their mode of procedure, Moll of the 
late European writers, where propriety would 
permit, allude to it as an indubitable fad:. It 
is not, indeed, denied even by thofe who feern 
molt difpofed to quiet our appreheniions onthis 
fubjecl : their efforts are directed to prove, 
either that its operation is now at an end, or> 
that it never was defigned to produce, nor 
was indeed capable of producing, the evils 
afcribed to it. Whether the fubverfion of 
fuperftition and defpctifm was the whole aim 
of thefe plotting geniufes, their writings and 
S£ conduct will enable us to judge, 



176 Proofs of the Exj/ience 

The ftatements and obfervations in this 
chapter are principally defigned to fhew, that 
the contagious poifon is ftill fpreading and in- 
fecting foeiety, threatening the deftru&ion of 
every thing important to mankind, and there- 
fore, that the hiftory of this fed is a fubject 
highly interefling. 

Admitting that the order of the Illuminees 
is now extinct, their fyftems and do&rines 
remain ; the books by which they communi- 
cated their poifon are in circulation ; the arts 
by which they inveigled and corrupted the 
minds of men are not forgotten, and the 
former members of this fociety ftill poflefs 
the fkill, the wicked fubtlety, to which the 
care of Weifhaupt formed his adepts. To 
prove that fuch deftruftive arts have exifted, 
is virtually to prove that they ftill exift ; that 
is, that the care and caution of the wife and 
good ought to be the fame, as if they were 
allured of their prefent exiftence and aftual 
operation. Can it be a doubt whether wick- 
ed men will ufe the moft effectual weapons in 
their power ? Whether they will adopt thofe 
means which they judge beft calculated to 
promote their purpofes ? It belongs to the art 
of fortification to provide againft every poffi- 
bl.e mode of attack* The jayentipR gi artillery 



and Ejtl'Sls of Vduminifm. 1 77 

pointed out the neceffity of new means of de- 
fence, and it became the engineer to conflruct 
works, which would repel their deftrucnve 
violence. The legislator, the inftrucior of 
youth, the moraiift, the defender of chriftian- 
ity, have new arts to encounter, new modes 
of attack and inftruments of mifchief to guard 
againft ; how neceifary, then, that they fhould 
become acquainted with the weapons of their 
enemies, and of their new modes of attack r 

Although the diffolution of this combina- 
tion has been confidently afferted, the evidence 
of the fa£t does not appear. The interruption 
it has received from deteftion, would natural- 
ly produce an increafe of caution ; but can it 
be fuppofed to effect any change in the wilhes 
or deiigns of the confpirators ? Is the thing in 
itfelf probable ? The proof adduced is merely 
of the negative kind, and much of this is con- 
tradicted by plain fadls. 

In 1 794, it was announced to the public, that 
from 1790, "every concern of the Illuminees 
had ceafed.' 3 But in addition to what has 
been already related of a contrary afpec^ 
many circumftances contradict this afifcrtionu 



lyS Proofs of the Exiftence 

In 1791, a fpark of Illuminifm caught in 
Ireland, and fpread with aftonifhing rapidity, 
threatening a univerfal conflagration. The 
confpirators there affumed the denomination 
of United Irifhmen.* This extenfive combi- 
nation was concealed under forms very fimi- 
lar to thofe of Mafonry, and the whole was 
methodized upon the graduated fcale of Illu- 
minifrn. 

The fubordinate focieties confided of thirty 
members, and were under the direction of a 
Baronial committee, compofed of a delegate 

* See the report of the Committee of Secrecy, preferr- 
ed to the Irifh Houfe of Commons, July, 1797, with the 
papers and teftimonies upon which fald report was found- 
ed : 2d. edit. London, 1 798, for John Stockdale ; and the 
Speech of the Lord Chancellor, Feb. 19, 1798, reprinted 
for J. Stockdale. 

What is here introduced in relation to Ireland, is not 
defigned to intimate that the people of that country did 
not need a redrefs of grievances. It is noticed merely as 
an evidence of the exiftence of Illuminifm. It originated 
from foreign influence. The fyftem adopted was perfect- 
ly in the ftyle of the new order. The paffions of the peo- 
ple were inflamed, and their judgments blinded by mif- 
reprefentations. They were deceived as: to the real objeft 
of their leaders. By the fame means infurreclions may be 
excited under any government where the people are in 
a fimilar ftate of vice and ignorance. 



and Effccis of Wummifm. 1 79 

from each fociety within the Barony. - The 
Baronial committees in each county, in like 
manner elected delegates, who formed a coun- 
ty committee. Delegates from each county 
committee, formed, in like manner, a provin- 
cial committee for the government and 
direction of the feveral county committees, in 
each of the four provinces ; and thefe provin- 
cial directories appointed the general execu- 
tive, whofe reildence was in the metropolis. 

The fecretaries of each of thefe committees, 
were to be taken from an higher committee, 
and by them the whole correfpondence was 
maintained, and the orders of the executive 
tranfmitted through the different degrees. 
Thefe orders, for the greater fecurity, were, 
if poflible, to be communicated verbally, or 
otherwife, to be immediately defhroyed* 

One object of the union fpecified in the 
conftitution was, that of communicating with 
fimilar focieties in other parts, and particu- 
larly with the Jacobin club at Paris. In addi- 
tion to the ufuai oaths of fecrecy, fubmiffion, 
&c. every member was folemnly fworn never 
to give evidence againft a brother, in any 
court of juftice, whatever tvight be his crime. 



i So Proofs of the Exijlence 

Another requifite oath was fidelity to the French 
republic* 

In April, 1796, the outline of a treaty with 
France was drawn up by the general commit- 
tee of the union, and tranfmitted to the 
French directory, in confequence of which a 
French force made its appearance at Bantry 
Bay, on the 24J:] I er,but by a miftake 

between the h refpect to the time 

agreed upon for vhc h rafion, the Infurgents 
were not prepared to co-operate, and the ex- 
pedition failed. The accounts detailed in the 
reports of the feveral committees, reprefent 
the numbers of this affociation to be vaftly 
numerous. It is particularly dated, that 
150,000 w r ere organized and enrolled in the 
province of Ulfter.f 

Similar focieties, in clofe union and corres- 
pondence with this, were formed in England, 
and Scotland, under different names, but 
purfuing the fame object. 

A ftatement, ftill more interefting to Amer- 
icans, is found in the report of a provincial 

* Chancellor's Speech, p. 32 — Irifh report, Appendix, 
No. 4. 

Appendix, No. 31. 



and Effects of llluminlfiiu i 8 i 

meeting, dated Randolftown, Auguft 14, 
1797, from which it appears, that a number 
of focieties were formed in North America^ 
from which, in the laft eight days, two hundred 
mid eleven dollars had been received."* 

The oftenfible object of this union, was a 
parliamentary reform ; but the correfpondence 
with the directory, and the teftimo-ny of fev- 
eral witnefles, afford abundant proof, that this 
was held up merely to blind the people, and 
that the real object of the chiefs was, a revolu- 
tion, of which the French revolution was to 
be the model. 

Barruel relates feveral inftances in which the 
adepts were found fomenting confpiracies 
againft the government, both in Auftria and 
Pruffia, long after the reflation of all the ope- 
rations of Illuminifm were announced to the 
public. Thefe attempts were truly formida- 
ble, and were rendered abortive, only by 
thofe ftrange accidental occurrences, by which 
a governing Providence difappoints the devi- 
ces of the crafty. One inftance is worthy of 
notice, as a curioiity. Mehalovich, formerly 

<L 

* Appendix, No, 



.1 8 l Proofs of the Exljlence 

a capuchin, was a principal in a confpiracy 
in Germany. While he was out one day, a 
domeftic, playing with one of his fellow fer- 
vants, for the fake of humor, put on the 
capuchin habit, which his mafter had preferr- 
ed among his clothes, when his matter unex- 
pectedly returned. The fervant, in order to 
prevent being difcovered with the habit, hid 
himfelf under the bed. Mehalovich, with 
two other confpirators, entered the room j 
and thinking themfelves fecure, they con- 
verfed, unrefervedly, upon the confpiracy, 
which was to break out in three days. Me- 
halovich took five hundred thoufand florins, 
which were hidden in a harpfichord, and gave 
them to one of the confpirators for the exe- 
cution of the plan. After they left the room, 
the fervant went immediately and difcovered 
the whole plot to the minifters of ftate. .In 
the refult, Mehalovich, with eight accompli- 
ces, was executed, and many others were 
condemned to exile, or to perpetual imprit 
onmente 

This confpiracy exhibits a remarkable in« 
ftance of the means by which modern revolu- 
tions have been effeded. The party, defirous 
of a new order of things, through their in- 
fluence at court, found means of forming a 
garrifon in Vienna, of fubftantial and honeft 



and Ejfeds of Illuminifnu 1 83 

citizens, little accuftomed to bear arms. Thefe 
new raifed corps, they treated with the greateft 
feverity, under the pretence, that what they 
did was by the order of the emperor ; hoping 
by this to render the government obnoxious 
to them.* 

Habitually viewing Europeans as deprived 
of the rights of men, and groaning under 
oppreffion, our attention has been naturally 
diverted from confidering the real character of 
modern revolutionifts, and the tendency of 
their meafures and principles.- From the hap- 
py fuccefs" of their own revolution, Ameri- 
cans, in particular, have incautioufly indulged 
the idea, that a revolution muft meliorate fo- 
ciety ; that nothing more is rieceffary to ren- 
der men free, profperous, and happy, than to 
overturn ancient eftablifhments.-- Even under 
the adminiftrations of Washington and Ad- 
ams, thefe children of change, fancied a rev- 
olution rieceffary to preferve our liberties. 
But what has been exhibited in Europe, may 
teach us that it is time to paufe, and confider 
confequences. 

Would the deluded people of Ireland proba- 
bly have improved their fituation by overturn- 

* Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. IV. p. 311, 312. 



1 84 Proofs of the Exiftcncc 

ing their own government, and throwing them 
fclves into the arms of France ? What recom- 
pence has France herfelf found for her flaugh- 
tered millions, her exhaufted treafuries, and 
the fcenes of indefcribable diftrefs which have 
attended her revolution ? Can a people enjoy, 
or preferve the bleffings of temperate liberty, 
until they are enlightened and virtuous ? Will 
unprincipled, ambitious men exert the influ- 
ence they gain over mankind, to make them 
free or happy ? Have none but tyrants rea- 
fpn to dread this new, revolutionizing 
it r Was not Swilferland free ? Were the 
magiitrates of Geneva defpots ? In fine, is 
that revolutionary power, which confifts in 
blinding its agents, and inflaming the bad 
paflions of a nation by falfe representations, 
defirable in any government ? 

If oppofition to conftituted authorities, and 
a pretended zeal for the rights of men, are 
proofs of patriotifm and benevolence, the 
prefent may well be called the golden age ; but 
we have been fufliciently entertained with 
vague declamations, it is time to attend to facts 
and experience. 

It is obvious that fociety cannot fubfift, un- 
lefs thofe are governed who will not govern 
themfelves. Were all the members of a com- 



and Effefts of Ilhmiinlfm. 1 8 5 

rhunity invariably difpofed to practice right- 
eoufnefs, to fuch a community, a government 
of reftraint would be unneceffary. On the 
contrary, a fociety compofed of men of an 
oppofite character, need the ftrong hand of 
power to preferve the public tranquillity. 
Such a government tends indeed to abufe, 
and perhaps there may not be art inftance, 
where this rigorous exercife of authority is 
maintained, with a perfect regard to juftice 
and the rights of vthe fubjech It is to be 
regretted that men, invefted with power, are 
fo little difpofed to approve themfelves the 
fathers and benefactors of their fubjects. But 
is it therefore defirable, in the prefent ftate 
of mankind? that every government fhould 
be revolutionized into a republic ? Is the mod- 
ern, fafhionable oath, of " hatred to all kings," 
dictated by an enlightened and chriftian benev- 
olence? That man might asreafonably lay claim 
to benevolence, who Aiouid loofe the hands of 
a mad-man, and fet him at liberty to deftroy his 
family and himfelf. Until a people are enlight- 
ened and virtuous, republican freedom will 
degenerate into licentioufnefs, and afford an 
opportunity to the fa&ious and ambitious, 
by enflaming the paffions of men, to ere& a 
tyranny more to be dreaded than that of the 
moft arbitrary defpot on earth, 

CL2 



1 81 Proofs of the Esijicnce 

No nation in modern Europe has fuffered 
more from an unlimited monarchy than 
France ; but, feparate from all the mifchicfs 
which her mad politics have produced to 
other parts of the world, there certainly has 
been no equal period under her moft defpotic 
kings, produftive of evils, to be compared 
with thofe which have attended the late rev- 
olution ; and thefe evils muft probably have 
continued, if general Bonaparte had not 
fortunately acquired fuch unlimited control 
over the nation, as has reftored order and 
peace. 

It is futile to attempt to avoid the conclu- 
ficn, which this fact affords, by obferving, 
that thefe evils are to be imputed, not to the 
people of Frarfbe, but to faftious leaders, who 
have made them the dupes of their ambitious 
views ; for it is the wretched ignorance, and 
depravity of a people which make them dupes 
of fuch leaders. How grofs muft be the ig- 
norance of a people who can believe, that 
fuch men as Danton, Marat, and Robefpierre, 
are friends to real liberty, and the rights of 
man ? A vitiated fociety will always have 
fuch leaders. We may fafely eftimate the 
character of a people, by that of the perfons 
m whom they place confidence. This con- 



and Effects of Ilhminijm. 1 87 

fideration alone, proves, that virtue and in- 
formation are neceflary to the fupport of a 
free government. Where thefe are want- 
ing, perfons of the above defcription will 
never fail, by the cry of tyranny, and a 
pretended zeal for equal rights, to increafe 
the jealoufy of a people againft rulers of their 
own choice ; to withdraw from them the 
neceflary confidence, and to transfer that conn- 
dence, moft improperly indeed, to themfeives. 
To this evil, republican governments, from 
the lenity and indulgence which enters into 
their conftitution, have always been peculiarly 
expofed ; but the danger is greatly augmented 
fince the arts of deception have been wrought 
into a fyflem, and the aftive Propaganda of 
Iiluminifm has been laboring to undermine 
every government within the reach of its in- 
fluence. From this caufe, every conliderable 
republic in Europe has undergone a revolu- 
tion ; and the prefervation of governments of 
a more rigorous form, is owing to their greater 
energy in repelling the invading enemy. 

The American revolution took place under 
the happicft omens. It did not originate from 
the blinding influence of deligning men ; it 
was not excited by the ambitious deiire of 
rendering America miftrefs of the world } 



i 3 3 Proofs of the Exiflence 

but it owed its rife and progrefs to a juft 
fenfe, in the Americans, of the rights of men, 
of what was due to themfeives, and to pofter- 
ity, and a wife, patriotic, and virtuous deter- 
mination to refill the firft encroachments of 
arbitrary power. Simplicity of manners, 
habits of economy, induftry, and moderation, 
together with ample means of information, 
of moral and religious inftruclion, every cir- 
cumftance feemed to promife permanency to 
our government, and a rich harveft of the 
bleflings of freedom. Never was the experi- 
ment of a republican government made with 
fairer profpe&s of fuccefs. Yet, even here 
has anarchy reared her horrid front, and 
ftruck terror into the hearts of Americans. 
The arts of intrigue have withdrawn public 
confidence from approved worth, and tried 
merit, and all the energies of government 
have been called into action to fupprefs a fpirit 
of infurreftion, and open oppofition to con- 
ftitutional meafures. 

There yet appears a large number of citi- 
zens, we hope a great majority, who feem 
fenfible of the importance of electing men of 
principle, and of fupporting the moral, and re- 
ligious inftitutions of our country ; and while 
fuch is our fituatigri; we are not to defpair o£ 
the yepubli^ 



and Jiffefts of lllwnlnlfm. iSg 

It is far from the deiign of thefe obferva* 
jEkms, to prove, that a republican gov- 
ernment is either undefirable, or impracti- 
cable ; they are intended merely to exhibit the 
abfurdity of the idea, which many have adopt- 
ed, that nothing more is neceflary to make 
any people happy than to reject their own 
government, and receive a conftitution from 
France. Whatever may be the refult of the 
experiment now making in America, the 
events which have taken place here, as well as 
in Europe, give weight to the opinion, that 
mankind are not generally prepared for the 
enjoyment of republican bleflings. 

But it is not merely by exciting revolutions 
and confpiracies, that Illuminifm has difcover*- 
ed itfelf in Europe, fince we were told, " that 
all the concerns of the Illuminees had ceafed." 

So late as February, 1798, the magiftrates 
of Jena were compelled to punifh a number of 
the ftudents of that univerfity, who had form- 
ed an afTociation, by the name of Amicifts, 
under the dire&ion of fome Illuminee. They 
had been taught to coniider the oath of their 
affociation as fuperceding all others, even the 
molt facred engagement that could be made. 
The form of this fociety was mafonic j and by 



igo Proofs of the Exljlence 

their fecretary, they maintained a regular cor- 
refpondence with other lodges. Their code 
taught them to confider thernfelves as a ftate 
within a ftate ; enjoined the moft profound 
fecrecy, and exprefsly required, that, fhould 
feveral of them afterwards refide in the fame 
town, they fhould eftablifh a lodge, and do all 
in their power to propagate the fociety.* 

On the authority of fome private communi- 
cations from Germany, the hiftorian further 
ftates, that the univerfity at Halle, was in a 
fimilar fituation with that at Jena. That pub- 
lic infults were offered by the ftudents, to the 
minifters of religion, while attending the du- 
ties of their office ; that dogs were fet at 
them while preaching, and that indecencies 
took place in the churches, which would not 
be fufFered in the ftreets.f 

The very refpeftable writer before quoted, 
of Upper Saxony, fays, " In the great univer- 
fities of Germany, which I have feen, or of 
which I have had any information, the flu- 

* See Minutes of the Judgment of Hamburg, No. 45^ 
March 13. 

f Barruel's Memoirs, Vol. TV. p. 306 — 316,- 



and Effefls of Illumhiifnu 191 

,<lents have the appearance of a fet of rude and 
infolent Jacobins. In fome univerfities, where 
the ftudents amount to about a thoufand or 
twelve hundred, they are all formed into pri- 
vate focieties ; and that, in all the German 
univerfities, the chief fludy is the new fyftem 
of philofophy, by which the mind is totally 
bewildered, and at length deprived of every 
folid principle of religion, morality, or found 
politics. Unfortunately," he adds, "the clergy 5 
and many, even of thofe who ferve the coun- 
try parifhes, have had their minds bewildered 
with the metaphyfical jargon of the univerii- 
ties. They have come to doubt, and fome to 
deny, the truths of Chriflianity itfelf j and to 
affert, that it is a vulgar fuperftition, adapted 
only to the ignorant. The Old Teftament has 
very generally loft its authority ; and a coun- 
try clergyman, lately in company with x 
friend of mine, laughed heartily at the igno- 
rance and confined notions of the clergy of 
the church of England, when he heard they 
ftill believe the Mofaic hiftory of the fall 
of man."* 

A gentleman of great refpe&ability in Eu- 
rope, in a letter to his correfpondent in A- 

* Appendix to Anti-Jacobin Review, Vol. VI. p. 569. 



c$ 2 Proofs of the Exiflence 

merica, dated September, i 800, fays, " I lament 
exceedingly, the too plain {late of the public 
mind on the great points of religion and mo- 
lality. Religion has been fo freely dealt with 
now in Germany, that it no longer makes the 
impreffion of former times, alw r ays mixed 
with fome tincture of veneration. It is now 
entered upon with the fame coolnefs and eafe 
as any other matter of fcientilic difcuffiom 
This of icfelf is a misfortune. It was furely 
of advantage to us, that the mind could not 
^engage in any religious refearch, without fome- 
what of the fame referve (call it fuperftition if 
you will) that one feels when difcuiling a 
.point of filial duty or relation. Religion 
having thus loft all its ufe, it has even ccafed 
to occupy its former {hare of room in the 
.German Catalogues ; and the fcribblers have 
fairly begun to treat the plain moral duties 
with the fame freedom. I received lately, a 
a fmall performance, by one Emmcring, at 
Franckfort, who, even under the tyranny of 
:Cufline, in 1 792.3 had the boJdnefs to attack 
the profligate fpeeches of Bohmer and Forfter, 
in the Convention of Mentz. He ftill prc- 
ferves the fame unfubdued fpirit ; and though 
a layman, (a Wine merchant) he nobly main- 
tains the caufe of religion and virtue. In this 
little performance he mentions feveral raoft 



and Effects of Illumhiijnu 193 

profligate publications, in which the fidelity of 
the hufband, to the marriage bed, is fyftemat- 
ically fhewn to be a frivolous prudery ; and 
therefore, concubinage, or polygamy, perfectly 
proper, under certain regulations, purely civil ; 
and, which ismoftlamentable,the proper courts, 
before which this was brought by Emmering 
himfelf, refufed to take it up as a public of- 
fence. This, at Franckfort, grieved me ; for, 
during the revolution at Mentz, the inhabit- 
ants of Franckfort, behaved in a manner that 
is not exceeded by any thing on record." 

" I was the more affected by this, becaufe I 
found that Knigge and Weiihaupt, after hav- 
ing formed very high expectations from their 
operations in Edeffa, were difappointed ; and, 
in 1782, reprobate Edeffa in the moft rancor- 
ous terms. Philofays, u the inhabitants are 
too rich, too republican, and will 'not be led 
about by the nofe." 

" Emmering mentions another publication 
by one Semler, profeffedly written to weaken 
the parental tie, laying it down as a princi- 
ple, that a man's children have only an artifi- 
cial title to his fortune, unlefs they have aided 
him in the acquifition of it. But the ftate, by 
giving that protection by which the fruits of 

R 



194 Proofs of the Exiftcnce 

his induftry are fecured to him, has a preferable 
and natural claim. The aim of this unnatural 
principle is too barefaced, I think, to be dan- 
gerous. But a companion to it by George 
Forfter, is moft atrocious. The fons and 
daughters are made the judges of their parent's 
character and conduct, and if they find either 
inchicy they are peculiarly bound to denounce 
them as undutiful to them (their children) by 
giving them pernicious principles and educa- 
tion. I mention thefe things to fhew how 
the profligate monitors have attempted to. revo- 
lutionize the mind of man." 

We have many unequivocal proofs that 
this is a juft reprefentation of the ftate of re- 
ligion and literature in Germany. To what 
views and motives fhall we then attribute the 
conduct of thofe gentlemen, who endeavor to 
compel us, by illiberal; reproaches, to believe 
their unfupported declarations ? Do they not 
know that the mind naturally revolts againft 
fuch unreafonable violence, fuch tyrannical at- 
tempts to hoodwink our underltandings? 



and Ejflds of Illuminifnu 195 



CHAP. XIV, 



Collateral Proofs^ and General Obfervatiom^ relat- 
ing to the United States. 

1 HOSE who allure us that Illuminiim - 
was always harmlefs, and has long fince been 
extinft in Europe, at the lame time ridicule 

the idea of its having ever exifted in America y >, 
or had arry influence on-our civil or religious 
refts. From the peculiar fecrecy. of the 
:ea: 5 thefe gentlemen came forward with the 
greateft advantages for- gaining credit ; jfoiy 
they confidently afk, where are thefe HMmi- 
nees ? Point them out to us, With the fame 
confidence they aiTert that we were ignorai; f ; 
of the name of this order until it was commu- 
nicated by Rohifon, This is true, but if they 
are impartial, Why do they not lay open the 
whole truth ?. Why do they not tell us that 
the ftrength of the order lies principally in 
concealment, and that it afiumes any name or 
form, rather than its own proper one I ~\ ■ 



ig6 Proofs of the Exijtenc* 

do they not tell us, what they very well 
know, that, even in their native foil, Bavaria, 
their name and exiftence were equally un- 
known, till their deeds difcovered their retreat, 
and induced an inquiry, which brought to 
light their hidden works of darknefs ? The 
inquiry before us does not refpect names and 
Ilations. We are not contending that 
there are, or have been, men in America, 
known as Illuminees. The important fad is, 
that men in America., under the direction and 
influence of a foreign head, are, or at leaffc 
have been, combined in opposition to our 
peace, profperity and welfare. A rafh, un- 
founded fuggeilion of this nature would be 
highly criminal ; it is here made with folem- 
nity, and under a conviction, that the evidence 
by which it is Supported, affords jult caufe of 
alarm. 

Upon the lift of illuminated lodges, furnifh- 
ed by Dr. Robifon, fever al are mentioned as 
exiftingin America before 1786. * 

The zeal with which Dr. Morfe has inveftfc- 
gated this matter, as it refpecls this country, 
though it has loaded him with that kind of 
obloquy which is the good man's praife, has 

* Robifoa's Proofs ; p. 1 59. 



artd Effects of Bfuhmtjhu i o 7 

furniflied feme important documents with 
which we ftiall enrich this part of the fubject. 

In an Appendix to his Fail: Sermon, of May 
9^ 1798, he gives us a particular account of 
the lodge Wisdom,, inftituted at Pertfmouth 
in Virginia., as early as 1786, a branch of the 
Grand Orient of France, and numbered the 
2660th defendant of that ftock,* From an 
original letter, for the authenticity ; of which 
he pledges himfelf to the public, he has fur- 
niihed us wkh an official lift of die numbers, . 
names^ages, places of nativity, and profeihoiis 
of the officers and members of this lodge, to- 
gether --with their horrid feal, in. which, with 
fome of the ufual mafonic fymbols, are inter- 
woven emblems of carnage and death. The 
members of this lodge, confifting of one hun- 
dred, were chiefly emigrants from France and 
St. Domingo, . This lodge had a deputy rend- 
ing with the mother fociety in France, to com- - 
municate all needful. inftruciions. Two firnilar 
focicties had originated from the Porlimouth . 
lodge, one in Virginia, the other at St, Domingo, 



* Particular mention is made of ihls tedge by Eatrt 
r oL IV. p, 213, 



igS Proofs of the Exflence 

By the fame means he had evidence of the 
exiftence of a iimilar fociety at New York, 
called " The Grand Orient of New York/' 
derived, in like manner, from the lodge of the 
lame name in France. From this New York 
lodge iflued a French lodge, called the Union, 
which was the 14th branch from this feconda- 
ry ftock. The particular location of the other 
lodges, or whether the number here fpecified, 
included the whole which were then in Ame- 
rica, were not known. 

It is an important item of information, 
which the Doctor further communicates on 
this fubject, that the beft informed Free Ma- 
fons among us, difclaim thefe focieties ; the 
titles of fome of their dignitaries, their feal 
and motto they declare are not mafonic. In 
the clofe he introduces the following calcula- 
tion, which, though obvious, is interesting. 
Admitting all thefe American lodges, individ- 
ually, to contain an equal number of members 
with the lodge Wifdom, the calculation gives 
at that time, no lefs than 1700 agents of Illu- 
minifm in America, in clofe connection and 
correfpondence with each other, and with the 
Grand Orient at Paris, from which they re- 
ceived conltant illumination ; and we may 



and Effeds of Ilktminifm. 199 

add, acting under the influence of a fociety, 
which was the active foul and vital fpring of 
thofe fcenes of horror exhibited in France and 
other parts of Europe., 

A very refpectable Mafon, formerly Grand 
Mafter of all the lodges in the State in which 
he refided, informed me, that a letter, defigned 
for one of the abovementioned lodges, fell in- 
to his hands while he was Grand Mafter, by a 
very natural miftake, and which left him no 
room to doubt the accuracy and authenticity 
of what Dr. Morfe has ftated on this fubject. 
He could not afcertain particulars, as the time 
of his receiving the letter was previous to the 
difcovery of Illuminifm, and confequently it 
appeared more enigmatical than it probably 
would at prefent ; and fince that time, it has 
been mifiaid, or taken out of his poffeffion. 

The following fafts, received from unquef- 
tionable authority, confirm the truth and 
accuracy of the above reprefentation. A 
gentleman of high refpeftability, who fays, 
" he belonged to a lodge of the ancient order of 
Mafons," and was in a fituation to know per- 
fectly the character and conduct of the Portf- 
mouth lodge, under date of March 23, 1800, 
writes thus to Dr, Morfc j " The lodge in 



loo P Poofs of the Exiftence - 

Fortfmouth, to which you allude, in your * 
appendix, called the French lodge, was con- 
fidered by me as under the modern term of 
mafonry. Its members, in 1789, .were moftly 
French. Some men who were refpettable,. , 
and attached to our government, Dickfon .,* 
and Cox, particularly, belonged to the lodge 
at that time. It is probable about, the time 
Admiral Cambis' fleet arrived there from Sto . 
Domingo, there might have been many en- 
thuiiaftic Frenchmen admitted, which fwell < 
the number in your lift/'' 

April 1 1 , 1 800, the fame gentleman writer 
" That you had good grounds to fufpeft the 
defigns of the French lodge at Fortfmouth in 
Virginia, I have no reafons, nor ever had, to 
doubt 5 and, at a time, it is evident to me, that 
their work was to efFeft the plans of France in « 
this country; and that the bulk of the members ; 
who compofed the lodge in 1797, were ready < 
to further any defigns which the French gov- 
ernment may have had on this country, and : 
to give their aid to carry them into* effect,- as 
they were moftly Frenchmen. The few 
Americans admitted were to prevent, their being; 
fufpecied, znd they could operate without them j-: 
as I am convinced they never were admitted 
to the higheft degrees." 



and Effeds of Uluminlj'hu 201 & 

Add to the above, that this French lodge 
at Portfmouth 5 was not in fellowship with the 
other lodges of the ancient order of Mafons ; 
and that one of its members fromGermany 5 at 
a period when Americans generally thought 
favorably of the French revolution, declared, 
(and the declaration can be fubftantiated) that 
he belonged to a lodge in Germany, in which 
that revolution was planned. Thefe facts, 
and thole originally ftated, together with 
credible information^ received direct from 
the nod- resectable men in Portfmouth, 
prove inconteftlUy the correclnef: of the 
account which has been publifhed of this 
lodge* 

Although the above documents have never 
been confronted with any evidence, unlefs 
clamor and abufe may be fo called, yet, as 
this mode of reafoning has its influence with 
fome people, I mult beg leave to introduce 
another refpectable mafonic teftimony. It is 
an extract, furnifhed by a friend, from a 
printed oration, delivered February 3d, A. L. 
5801, before the Grand Royal Arch Chapter 
for the fiate of New-York, by the Rev. John, 
F. Ernft, Grand Chaplin, The friend who 
furnifhes the extract, writes, that he (the 
orator) " is held in high, very high efiima* 



203 Proofs of the Exijience. 

tion by the Mafons in tliofe parts." The 
orator, guarding his brethren againft the 
wrong ufe which he acknowledges has been, 
made of Mafonry,- in many initances, intro- 
duces the following fentence. 

"The unravelled and deepdefigns of modern 
Mafons, called the Illuminati, who have almoft 
inundated Europe, and are gaming ground fafi 
in America,, have clearly demonftrated the 
abufe, uniyled Mnfon lodges have met with ; and . 
hew they, when not prefided__o^er, > and 
guarded by m ^n of knowledge, and genuine 
mafonic principles, can be overthrown, revolu- 
tionized, and moulded according to picafurc" 

Are thefc. documents deferring no credit ? : 
Shall we renounce our reafon, bocaufe fome 
men will not believe v.nlefs they have a. 
fign from heaven ? And if true, do they nor - 
afford juft caufe of- alarm ? Admitting this 
was a full difcovery of the extent of Illumin- 
ifm in America, at that time, and that fince 
that time, it has received no increafe, which 
is far from being probable ; is a body of 
feventeen hundred men. aftinsr with the force 
of fecret focieties, and under the direction of 
a foreign power, compatible with the peace, , 
quiet, andiafety of this, country ? We need: 



and Effects of Illumnifm. .203 

no longer wonder at the confidence the 
French Directory exprefled in their diplomatic 
jkill and influence in America, or the prev- 
alence of the new philofophy, and the alarm- 
ing change which has taken place here, in the 
ftate of religion and morals. It is no longer 
furprifing, that every, method has been adopted 
to excite oppofition to the meafures of the 
late adminiftration of our government, to 
vilify our beft charafters, and to alienate the 
minds of the citizens from their rulers; or 5 
that, native Americans have been compelled 
to yield their feats to foreigners. This 
affords an eafy explanation, of what, without 
this key, muft appear myilerious, that a 
period, in which we have enjoyed all that 
men can enjoy of the bleffings of a free and 
excellent government, attended with a degree 
of profperity, which has fcarce its parallel in 
the hiftory of mankind, has been a period of 
complaint, of tumult and infurrection. Nor 
is it unaccountable that we fhould hear it 
afferted, with the highell effrontery, that our 
greateft danger arifes, not from France, from 
Ukiminifm, or felf-created focieties, but, from 
-the tyranny of the clergy, and from Britifh 
influence. Thefe are among the known arts 
of Illuminlfm. Whoever has carefully ob- 
served its progrefs in Europe, will eafily 



!204 Proofs of the Ex'ifience 

difcern the features of the monfter, under all 
its concealments. It is an axiom in Illumin- 
ifm, upon which its difciples, both in Eu- 
rope and America, have formed their prac- 
tice, that the moft egregious and abfurd 
falfehoods, if told with confidence, and confi- 
dently repeated, will at length gain credit 
and influence. 

As has been ftated, we have ample proof, 
that focieties have exifted in America, derived 
from the Grand Orient in France, and inti- 
mately connected with that directing head of 
all the improved, or illuminated lodges in 
France. This evidence, coming from different 
quarters and diftincl fources, is greatly cor- 
roberated by that circumftance, and acquires 
an additional claim to our belief. But will 
it be faid, becaufe illuminated focieties, con- 
nected with thofe in France, once exifted in 
America, it is not therefore certain that they 
were united in defign with the parent 
fociety, or wiihed to extend the empire of 
Illuminifm ? Though Jacobin clubs were 
'fuddenly formed in every part of the United 
States, fimilar to thofe in France, by means 
of which, the Jacobins governed the nation at 
their pleafure, yet this, it may with as much 
truth be faid ? is no demonilration that the 



and EffeSls of lllmmmfm. 205 

clubs in America were formed for the like 
purpofe. Thus men reafon, who are deter- 
mined not to admit conviction- But can any 
perfon, not blinded by prejudice, doubt 
whence arofe the oppofition made to the 
adoption of the federal conftitution, and to 
every meafure, calculated to eftablifh the 
independence, profperity, and refpectability 
of our country ? It is not commonly to be 
expected, that we fhould be able to fubftan- 
tiate,by legal evidence, the fecret machinations 
of the emiffaries of darknefs. Their intentions 
are not to be difcovered by their profeffions, 
and oftenfible v character ; but often they un- 
warily expofe themfelves to the wakeful eye of 
wifdom. 

Before the fyftematical arrangements of 
Illuminifm became public, the active inter- 
ference of France in America was vifible to 
every perfon of difcernment, who was not 
oppofed to conviction. It is well known that 
the activity of Genet, by granting commii- 
lions to privateers, procuring the enliftment 
of foldiers, forming clubs, extending the 
influence of France, and by his attempts to 
excite oppofition to government, and to 
alienate the minds of the people from their 
rulers, produc ed a remonftrance on the fubjeft 
s 



2o0 Proofs of the Exijlence 

from our watchful Prefident, which rendered 
his recal unavoidable. To exculpate thofe 
under whofe commiffion Genet acted, his 
conduct in America has been attributed to his 
imprudently, exceeding his commiflion. This 
is eafily faid, as many other things have been, 
without a coloring of truth. Genet had his 
recommendation for the American appoint- 
ment, in the proofs he had given of his difor- 
ganizing qualities at Geneva, where he had 
been the fuccefsful agent of the fame deteftable 
policy. But we are not left to conjectures 
refpecting the grounds of his appointment. 
Robefpierre, wifhing to crufii'the Briffotine 
faction, that he might poffefs their power and 
influence, charges them with their unjuft 
attempts againft other governments, and with 
refped: to America, fays exprefsly, " Genet, 
their agent at Philadelphia, made himfeif chief 
of a club there, and never ceafed to make and 
excite motions equally injurious and perplex- 
ing to the government." N 

Defeated in this attempt, by the vigilance 
,of Washington, but not difcouraged, ren- 
dered more cautious, but not lefs malicious, 
the agents of France flill purfued, though 
with greater fecrecy, their diforganizing 
•fyftem. In 1 795, Fauchet's intercepted letter 



and Effects of llluminijm. 20 1 

again difclofed their dark defigns, and the 
real character of " the pretended patriots of 
America/ 5 The memorable fentence, relating 
to the infurgents in the weftern counties, will 
not be foon forgotten. He informs his gov- 
ernment, that the weftern people, " Repub- 
licans by principle, independent by character 
and fituation, they could not but accede with 
enthuliafm to the criminations which wg 
have Sketched."* The grievances of thefe 
deluded people, or their criminations of gov- 
ernment, were not, it appears^ fuggefted by 
their own feelings, but by French agents ■, who 
di&ated to them what were the cenfurable 
proceedings of their conftituted authorities. 

This is not the ftrft time this officious 
nation has fketched grievances, asd excited, 
thofe who v/ere at reft, to arm themfelves 
againft their own governments, But left this 
Jketch fhould not meet the feelings, and obtain 
the full approbation of thefe republicans, 
Fauchet adminifters to his employers, this 
further confolation, that " thefe complaints 
were fyftematizing by the converfation of 
influential men^ who retired into thofe wild 
countries, and who, from principle, or by a 
feries of particular heart-burnings ', animated dif~ 
contents, already too near to efFervefcence."f 

* Fauchet's Letter, iothparag. f ibid. 12th parag. 



■20 8 Proofs of the Exijience 

It muft now be left with the reader to deter- 
mine, whether or not he will allow Mr* 
Fauchet, and his influential coadjutors, the 
praife he claims of exciting an infurre&ion, 
which coll the United States more than a 
million of dollars. 

As Mr. Fauchet has not told us what argu- 
ments his influential agents would ufe to 
promote the infurre&ion, the defect may be 
fupplied by the following communication, 
made by a gentleman of accurate information, 
and of the firft refpe&ability in Pennfylvania ; 
who warrants us to allure the public, that 
" the plunder of the city of Philadelphia was pro?n~ 
fed to the Inf urgent s in 1794, by their leaders. 39 

The focieties of United Irifhmen next mark 
the progrefs of Illuminifm in America. In 
May, 1798, the declaration and conftitution 
of the American Society of United Irifhmen 
were difcovered, and publifhed inPhiladelphia. 
This fociety was evidently founded on the 
principles of the illuminated lodges in Europe ; 
and we are not left in the dark as to their 
object ; for no one, who will attentively read 
their conftitution, can hefitate to fay, it was 
to enlift and organize the difcontented and 
fa&ious, and particularly foreigners, in the 



and Effefis of Jlluniinifnu 209 

different parts of the United States, in order 
to diffufe the fpirit, and promote the infernal 
defigns, of Illuminiim in this country. Their 
conftitution is drawn up with confiderable ' 
ingenuity. The oftenfible object of their 
affociation, was to act in concert w T ith their 
United brethren in Ireland*- "Equality and 
Liberty to all men/' was, at the fame timc 9 
held forth in their declaration ; and in their 
teft, each member pledged himfelf, that he 
would direct all his efforts to the "attainment 
of liberty and equality to mankind, in whatever 
country he may refide" The fection which 
immediately follows the fg/?, exhibits a ftrong 
evidence, that the oftenfible object of the fociety., 
was not the real one; and, that under the 
femblance of humanity, was concealed a 
project far from the emancipation of mankind. 
The feftion is this :" That the iefi of this 
fociety, and the intention of this irflituiion^ 
(in ail other refpects than as a fecial body 9 
attached to freedom) be confidered as fecrei 
and inviolable, in all cafes, but between mem- 
bers, and in the body of the fociety." The 
exiftence of this fociety, the intended fecrecy 
of its defigns, and the evident tendency of its 
labors, exhibit further, and ftrong proo£> 
that the baneful influence of llhiminifn is 
diffuflng itfelf through, this country, 
4, sa- 



2 i o Proofs of ike Eki/hnM 

Although our ears were daily wounded 
with the difgufting extravagancies of France, 
and our property fubje&ed to the moil wan- 
ton fpoilations, ftill, from fome fecret caufe, 
her influence was prevailing in America ; 
when the directory, milled by the fhameful 
pliancy of our ambaffador,* entirely mifcal- 
culated their influence, and the remaining en- 
ergy of the American character. Sure of 
their prey, they too foon threw off the mafk 
which concealed their defigns. Their con- 
duct towards the American Envoys, who 
were fent to demand a redrefs of grievances, 
was fo repugnant to every fentiment of juf- 
tice, good faith and propriety, as to admit of 
no apology. The biift, which had- been gath- 
ering around the minds of Americans, and 
through which France appeared great and 
magnanimous, was diffolved in a moment. 
In vain was recourfe had to the deceptive 
arts which heretofore had been fo fuccefsful. 
Her deteftable policy filehced her advocates, 
and united all who regarded righteoufneft 9 or 
felt for the intereft, or dignity of their coun- 
try. A barrier was now formed, which ap- 
peared to be a lading defence againft the in- 
triguing fpirit of France. We forgot our 
loiTes and fufferings in the pleafing profpect 

* Mr. >Iviunroe f 



cmd Effects of Ehiminifm. 1 1 1 

that our countrymen would forever efcape 
her deceptive fnares. But, alas, thefe hopes 
have vanifhed.. Subfequenfc events, which 
have lulled the fears,, and impaired the en- 
ergies of our countrymen, have furnilhed 
unhappy opportunities to the friends of France, 
to propagate her principles, and extend her 
influence, in America j and at no period, per- 
haps, has their fucceft been greater, than for 
the la-ft three or four years. What is to be 
the refult, cannot be forefeen*. 

The influence of Washington, more e:s- 
tenfive, perhaps, than ever one man acquired 
over a nation, proved, during his adminiftra- 
tion, a great mean, under Providence, of fe~ 
curity againft the infiduous attempts of out 
enemies, and the progrefs of fel&created foci- 
eties, of the tradency of which he was 
aware, and gave faithful warning to his coun- 
try. At a later period, the full tide of wealth, 
which has poured in upon almoft all claffes of 
citizens has operated as an antidote againft 
the libels of the enemies of our government. 
But, if thefe peculiar advantages have fcarcely 
preferred us from the mortal embraces of France j 
if a fteady opposition has been made to a gov- 
ernment whole meafures have been uniformly 
fttcwfefui, and nuiroiurs, spxnpUmts and in* 



8 1 2 Proofs of the Exiflence 

furre&ions have marked a period, attended 
with every foothing circumftance of prof- 
perity, what may we not fear from thofe 
preffing difficulties which may arife, and 
which, probably, will be the refult of thofe 
luxurious habits we are now forming, when 
the means of gratification, as they mull be^ 
are contracted ?. What indeed can we expert 
in any circumftances, ftiould the fpirit of Illu- 
minifm continue its progrefs ; fliould .our re- 
newed intercourfe with France, extend the 
influence of thofe principles which have al- 
ready been too fuccefsfully diffeminated in 
America ? 

Although the obfervations in this chapter 
have a political afpeft, they have not been 
introduced with a political defign, but in evi- 
dence of the progrefs of the genius of Illu- 
minifm, the conftant attendant of French 
influence. France is the region of Illuminifm, 
and her policy and principles are diftated by its 
fpirit. The leading chara&ers in her revolu- 
tion have publicly avowed the fentiments fo 
induftrioufly propagated by Voltaire, and fyf- 
tematically taught in the fchool of Weifhaupto 

In a difcourfe, compofed by Anacharfis 
Cloots, and priated and circulated by Qrder 



and Ejjifts of llluminifm. 1 1 3 

of the National Convention, we find the 
following fentiments. " Man, when free, 
wants no other divinity than himfelf. Reafon 
dethrones both the kings of the earth, and 
the king of heaven. No monarchy above, if 
we wifh to preferve our republic below. . Vol- 
umes have been written, to determine whether 
a republic of Atheifts could exift : I maintain, 
that every other republic is a chimera. If 
you admit the exiftence of an heavenly fove- 
reign, you introduce the wooden horfe within 
your walls ; what you adore by day, will be 
your deftruction at night. "* By virtually 
abolifhing the chriftian fabbath, enthroning 
Reafon in the temples of the Deity, and. by 
affixing to their burying-grounds the infcrip- 
tion, " Death is an everlajlingjleep" a fentiment 
expreiilve of the effence of atheifm, the Con- 
vention gave the moft explicit fanftion to the 
above principles. 

This is French liberty; the liberty they 
wifh to propagate. The ftate of their finances 
required that they fhould be more immediate- 
ly a&ive in promoting revolutions in govern- 
ments, than in propagating atheifm, as every 
revolution afforded a pretext for plunder, 
and for demanding contributions j but, ij& 

* Refidence in France. 



2 1 4 Proofs of the Exifience 

the mean time, they have not been inactive in 
their attempts to abolifh, what they ftyle, 
"■ the tyranny of heaven" Their Anti-Chriftian 
writings, which have been rapidly circulated, 
even in thefe diftant regions, and their 
Propaganda, afford ample proofs of their zeal. 
Girtanner, in his memoirs on the French 
revolution, eftimates " the acting members of 
the club of the Propagandifis, at fifty thoufand, 
and their general fund, in 1 791, at thirty 
millions of livres ; that they are extended 
over the world; having for their object the 
promotion of revolutions, and the doctrines 
of atheifm. It is a maxim in their code, that 
it is better to defer their attempts for fifty 
years, than to fail in them through too much 
precipitation."* 

That the principles of infidelity have 
attended the progrefs of French influence in 
America, does not admit of a doubt. The 
truth of this remark is evident from infpec- 
tion. Who can avoid feeing, and who that 
believes the importance of religion to man- 
kind, can avoid lamenting, the alarming 
revolution which has taken place here, in the 
eflential dodrines of natural and revealed 

* Barroel's Memoirs, Vol. XL p. 2450- 



and Effects of llluminifm. % 1 5 

religion ? The fentiment has not yet been 
openly avowed, but I have fatisfying evidence, 
that it has been more than once aflerted, to 
this effect, that we never jhould be free until the 
chriftlan church %vas abolijhed* 

The two following articles of information 
were communicated by a gentleman of the 
firft refpeclability in Pennfylvania, to his cor- 
refpondent in New England, who has favored 
me with his letter : # He writes, " On the oc- 
cafion of the eleftion of citizen M*Kean, an 
altar was erected on the commons, on which 
the ftatues of liberty and peace were placed. 
Large libations were poured on the altar by 
the priefts of liberty, who were clothed in 
white, with red caps, ftuck round with fprigs 
of laurel. After which an ox was facrificed 
before the altar, and its flefh divided among a 
thoufand citizens, while many republican 
toafts were drank by the company. The ox 
was likewife adorned with garlands, accord- 
ing to the Pagan ritual," 

The other article is as follows : " It was 
lately propofed in Ricket's Circus, (at Phila- 
delphia) to exhibit a view of He//, for the di- 

P The original is \vith the author, 



2 1 5 Proofs of the Exijfome 

verfion of the good company, and fuch exhi- 
bition would have taken place, had not the 
combuftibles, prepared for the occafion, taken 
fire too foon, and confumed the houfe." The 
firft account, the writer fays, " is taken from 
a democratic paper/ printed at York (Penn- 
fylvania) and with refpeft to both, he adds, 
" You may rely on the accuracy of the in- 
formation," 

The following ftatement is taken from a 
printed abftraft of the fociety, for the propa- 
gation of the gofpel in foreign parts, for the 
year, ending the 21ft February, 1800, and an- 
nexed to Dr. Courtenay's anniverfary fermon. 

" A feci, called New Lights, but compofed 
of the moft enthufiaftic and extravagant of 
the different denominations in Nova Scotia, 
have lately appeared in that province, whofe 
political, are faid to be equally dangerous with 
their religious principles. It is believed that 
the conduftors of thefe people are engaged in 
the general plan of a total revolution in relig- 
ion and civil government ; and it is a certain 
faft, that the Age of Reafon, Volney on the 
Ruin of Empires, and a falfe reprefentation of 
the French Revolution, have been fecretly 
handed about by profefied New Lights," 



and EffeEls of Illuminifm. a i J 



CHAP. XV. 



IN CONTINUATION. 

IN the former chapter, fome documents 
were introduced to prove that the noxious 
weed of Illuminifm had taken root in our 
happy foil, and was here diffufing a poifon, 
more penetrating and mortal than that of the 
famous Bohan Upas. Let us now examine the 
afpecl of facts, which are univerfally known to 
exift, and obferve their agreement with this 
hypothefis. If all appearances harmonize with 
the fentiment here advanced, and are unac- 
countable on every other fuppofition, this will 
give much additional weight to the proofs 
already adduced. Indeed, the evidence refult- 
ing from the exifting ftate of things, often 
impreffes the mind with a conviction, no lefs 
forcible, than the molt politive teftimony, 
This kind of evidence, however, requires an 
equal balance ; its due weight can never 
be ascertained where the unfteady hand of 



2 1 8 Proofs of the Exijlence 

pafllon holds the beam, or where prejudice 
pofleffes the fcale. 

Perfuaded that there are many of my fellow 
citizens, who are not guided by prejudice or 
partiality, I would invite them to a calm and 
deliberate confideration of the following que- 
ries, founded on the Hate of things among us, 
as they have exifted, and do now exift. 

ill. Whence arifes the avowed attachment 
of a numerous party, in this country, to 
France ? Why are we conftantly hearing, that 
fhe is the only nation in whom we can repofe 
confidence, on whofe fidelity we can rely ; the 
only friend of the rights of man ? Why are all 
her enormities fo induftrioufly palliated, and 
her victories celebrated as the triumphs of 
riorhteoufnefs ? 



~o 



Perhaps there has never been an inflance in 
the hiftory of man, of a more iincere and dif- 
interefted friendfhip between two nations, 
than that which once fubfifled between Ame- 
rica and France ; and I hope there is not now 
a citizen in the United States, who would not 
feel a fmcere and ardent pleafure in the return 
of that nation to the paths of wifdom, and 
the enjoyment of the fweets of civil and re- 



and Effects of Wuminifnu 219 

iigious liberty. But what muft be in the heart 
of that man, whofe feelings accord with her 
principles, and who is gratified with the fuccefs 
of her prefent meafures ? Muft not every 
friend to fociety, to order, and religion, 
adopt, with refpeft to France, the energetic 
language of the Patriarch, "O my foul, come 
not thou into their fecret ; unto their affem- 
biy, mine honor, be not thou united r" 
Whence then the charm which fo ftrongly 
binds fuch a numerous party in this country 
to France l 

h it their malicious oppofition * to the 

* Sunday, Nov. 17, Anacharfis Cloots did homage 
to the Convention, and made the following propofal. 
" It is now become an acknowledged truth, that the ad- 
verfaries of religion have well deferved of mankind. On 
this account, I demand, that a ftatue be erected to the 
firft abjuring prieft, in the temple of reafon." The pro- 
pofal of Cloots was referred to a committee, and adopted. 

In the fame month, on the motion of Chaumette, 
■■ which was received with applaufes, it was refolved in the 
Council of Paris, 

1. That all the churches and temples of different 
religions and worfhip, which are known to be in Paris, ihali 
be inftantly fhut. 

2. That whatever troubles may enfue in Paris, in 
confecrueace of religious motives, the priefts and miniikrs- 



22o Proofs of the Exijlence 

Chriftian religion, burning their bibles,* oblit- 
erating the chriftian fabbath/f paying divine 
honors to imaginary deities^ and counte- 

of the different religions, fliall each be particularly 
refponfible. 

3. That every perfon, requiring the opening of a 
church, or temple, fhall be put under arreft, as a fufpecled 
perfon, &c. &c." — Kett on Prophecy, London edit. i8cc, 
Vol. II, p. 240. 

* " What," fays an intelligent American gentleman, 
in a letter to his friend in Bcftor,, dated at Havre, Nov. 24, 
1793, " What do our good folks think of dethroning God, 
burning the Bible, and fhuttmg up the churches ? Before 
I came here, they burnt the bible in the public fquare, 
.1 down the images cf Jefus and Mary, in the 
churches, and filled the niches with thofe 01 Re a fin and 

. ••/!•, &c. See Br. Morfe's Thankfgiving Sermon, 
1798, p. 22. 

•f " Oct. 25, 1793, a new calender was propofed, and 
adopted by the Convention, with a view to obliterate the 
remembrance, as well as obfervance of that holy day, 
which has been, from the earlieft times, confecrated to the 
exercife of public devotion. Feftivals were appointed at 
ftated periods, fimilar to thofe v/hich were eftablifhed in 
times of Idolatry, to the Virtues, to Genius, to Labor, to 
Opinion, to Rewards." Kett, Vol. II. p. 236. See 
alfo, Refidence in France, p. 270, New- York edit. 

J " The magnificent church of St. Genevieve, at Paris, 
was changed, by the National Affembly, into a repofitory 
for the remains of their great men, or rather into a pagan 
temple, and as fuch, was aptly diftinguifhed by the name 
Qf the Pantheon/ 9 [N, B> The Pantheon was a beautiful edifice 



andEffetfs of lilumimfnu 2&M 

nancing, even in their National Affembly, the 

at Ro?ne> anciently a temple, dedicated to all the Gods A " Tc 
this temple, the remains of Voltaire and of Roffeati were 
conveyed in folemn and magnificent proceffion. The 
bones of Voltaire were placed upon the high altar, and 
incenfe was offered. And when the infatuated multitude 
bowed down before the relics of this arch enemy to Chrift, 
in filent adoration, a voice, a fingle voice, was heard to 
utter, in a tone of agony and indignation, thefe memorable 
words ; God, thou wilt be revenged! Search was immedi- 
ately made for the man, who thus dared to interrupt thefe 
rites, and this Abdiel was, probably, facrifked to the fury 
of the multitude." Kett, Vol. II. p. 233. 

"Previous to the tenth day, on which a celebration was. 
to take place, a deputy arrived, accompanied by the 
female goddefs ; that is, (if the town itfelf did not pro- 
duce one for the purpofe) a Roman drefs, of white fatin, 
was hired from the theatre, with which fhe. was invefted, 
her head was covered with a red cap, ornamented with 
oak leaves, one arm was reclined on a plough, the other 
grafped a fpear, and her feet were fapported by a globe, 
and environed by mutilated* emblems of feodality. 

u Thus equipped, the divinity and her appendages 
were- borne" on the fhoulders of Jacobins "en bonnet rouge/* 
and efcorted by the national guard, mayor, judges, and 
all the ccnfiituted authorities, w T ho, whether diverted cr 
indignant, w 7 ere obliged to preferve a refpeclful gravity 
of exterior. When the whole cavalcade arrived at the 
place appointed, the goddefs was placed on an altar 
erected for the cccafion, from whence {he harangued tha 
people, wiio, in return, proffered their adoration, and 
fong the Carmagnole*, and other republican hymns of the 
fame kind. They then proceeded in the fame order to 
the principal church, in the choir of which the fame cere- 
T 2 



a 2 2 Proofs of the Exi/icnce 

moil impious blafphemies againft the God of 
Heaven ? * 

Has France recommended herfelf to our 
efteem by thofe horrid murders, and fcenes 
of carnage and blood, which fpared neither 
the hoary head, the innocent fupplicating 
female, nor the harmlefs infant, but added 
wanton barbarity to her pretended a£ts of 

monies were renewed \ a prieft was procured to abjure 
his faith, and avow the whole of Cirri (Hanky an impoftures 
and the feitival concluded with the burning of prayer 
books, faints, confetTionals, and every thing appropriated 
to the ufe of public worfhip. The greater part of the 
attendants looked on in filent terror and aftonifhment \ 
while others, intoxicated, or probably paid to acl the 
fcandalous farce, danced round the flames, with an ap- 
pearance cf frantic and ravage mirth. It is not to be 
forgotten, that reprefentatives of the people, often pre- 
fided as the high priefts cf thefe rites ; and their official 
difpatches to the Convention, in which thefe ceremonies 
were minutely defcribed, were always heard with burfts 
of appiaufe, and fanclioned by decrees of infertion in the 
Bulletin*, a kind of official newfpaper, diftributed at the 
cxpenfe of government, in large towns, and pofted up in 
public places. " See Refidence inFrance,p.270,N.Y.ed» 

* "Nov. 1 793, the pupils of the new republican fchool, 
of the feciion des Areis, appeared at the bar, and one of 
them fet forth^ that all religious worfhip had been fup- 
preffed in his feciion, even to the very idea of religion. 
He added, that he and his fchool fellows detejied God, and 
that, inftead of learning feripture^ they learned the decla- 



and Effeffs of Illumtnifm* 22 3 

juftice ;* and perfecuted the minifters ofrelig- 

ration of rights. The prefident having exprefled to the 
deputation the fatisfaclion of the Convention, they were 
admitted to the honors of the fitting, amidfl the loudeft 
applaufe." Kett, p. 224, 

* "'Sept. 2, 1792. The people broke open the prifon 
of the Abbaye, and commenced a maffacre of the prif- 
oners. Many had been confined on flight fufpicions ; 
many poor priefts, on no particular accufation, but merely 
becaufe they were priefts. The fame horrid fcenes were 
extended to all the prifons in Paris. 

Among the unhappy victims who fuffered on this oc- 
cafion, was Madame de Lamballe, whcfe only crime was, 
the friendfliip of the queen. She was itruck on the head 
with the bludgeon of one aifaffin, and her head feparated 
from her body by the fabre of another. The body, after 
a feries of indignities, not to be related, was trailed by 
the mob through the ftreets." Moore*s Journal, Bofton 
edit. Vol. T. p. 183 — 189. 

Kett, defcribing the fame event, fays, " Three fucceff- 
ive nights and days, fcarcely meafured their affaffinations 
of prepared victims, who had been, from motives of pri- 
vate hatred and revenge, imprifoned. Seven thoufand 
fix hundred and five perfons were inhumanely murdered, 
and the ajfaffins publicly demanded their wages* During 
the fhort interval between thefe bloody fcenes, the paf- 
fions of the populace were fired ; the relentlefs Roland 
had the care of the general police ; the bloody Danton 
was the minifter of juftice ; the infidious Petion was 
mayor of Paris, and the treacherous Manuel was procu- 
rator of the common hall. Thefe magistrates were evi- 
dently, either the authors, or the acceffaries, of thefe 
maffacres," Kett, Vol. II. p. 235, 



224 Proofs of the Exijlenc*. 

ion with marks of peculiar rancor ?* Or are 
they pleafed with the loofe morality of 
France jf where the facred obligations of the 

" A fourth of thefe, our reprefentatives," fays the 
author of La Conjuration, page 160, u ripped open 
the wombs of the mothers ; tore out the palpitating em- 
bryo, to deck the point of a pike of liberty and equal- 
ity." Many inftances of the like nature might be pro- 
duced, but I am not willing to torture the feelings of 
the reader. 

* The commiffioner Gamier wrote thus to the Con- 
vention, on'the i ith of December, 1793 : " I have cauf- 
ed fifty eight priefts to be drowned." The next month 
he writes again, " Ninety priefts have juft been brought 
to me ; I have drowned them, 'which has given me great 
pleafure" " It appears that there have been two millions 
of perfons murdered in France, fmce it has called itfelf a 
republic ; among whom are reckoned 250,000 women,. 
230,000 children (befides thofe murdered in the womb) 
and 24,000 chriftian priefts, many of them Proteftants." 
Kett, Vol. II. p. 252. 

The conflagration of 1820 towns, villages, and ham*, 
lets, in one portion of its own territory ; the deliberate 
affaffination of women and children, by hundreds and 
by thoufands ; the horrid pollution of female victims-, 
expiring or expired ; and the eftabllfhment of a tan yard, 
under the aufpices of government, for manufacturing 
leather out of the flans of the murdered citizens, are 
facts, which exclufively grace the blood ftained annals of 
the gallic republic, and give to the revolution a dreadful 
pre-eminence in guilt." Kett, Vol. II. p. 251. 

f " To keep the minds of the Parifians in the fever of 
4iffolute gaiety, they are at more expenie, from the na- 



and Effefts of llluminifm. 225 

marriage covenant are diffolved ;* profiitu- 
tion countenanced ;f fuicide publicly ap- 
plauded ;+ where diffipation meets Vfith no 
check, and the endearing charities of life are 
extinguilhed ? || Do thefe perfons find the 

tional treafury, for the fnpport of the fixty theatres, tfcaa 
all the penfions and honorary offices in Britain, three 
times told, amount to. Between the 10th of Auguft, 
1792, and the ift of January, 1794? upwards of 200 
new plays were acted in the Parifian theatres. Their im- 
morality and their barbarifm exceed all defcription." 
Kett, Vol. II. p. 253. 

* " In confequence of the decree relative to marriage, it 
is calculated, that, in 1793* one hundred and fifty di- 
vorces took place in every mor*;h in Paris." Kett, Vol. 
II. p. 253. 

f By a decree of the Convention, June 6, 17943 it is 
declared, that there is nothing criminal in the promifcu-* 
ous commerce of the fexes." Kett, Vol. II. p. 217. 

% " Beaurepaire fhot himfelf at the furrender of Verdun. 
When the news reached the National Affembly, M. De- 
launay propofed, that his remains ftiould he brought 
from St. Menehold, and interred in a French Pantheon. 
This was immediately decreed, and an honorary infcrip- 
tion put on his tomb." Moore, Vol, I. p. 238. 

j| "A man, or rather a monfler, named Philippe, 
came to the Jacobin club, of which he was a member 5 
and, with a box in his hand, mounted the tribune. Here 
he made a long fpeech on patriotifm, concluding by a 
declaration, that he looked upon every one who prefer- 



226 Proofs of the Exi/ience 

traits of a great nation in the cruel exa&ions 
pra&ifed in Holland ; in their perfidious deal- 
red the ties of blood and of nature, to patriotic duty, as 
an ariftocrat worthy of death ; and to convince them of 
the purity and fmcerity of his own principles, he opened 
the box, and held up by the grey hair, the bloody and 
fhrivelled heads of his father and mother, which, faid 
the impious wretch, I have cut off becaufe they obfti- 
xiately perfifled in not hearing mafs from a constitutional 
priefb The fpeech of this panicide received the loudeil 
applaufes." Le Hiftoric du Clerge Francois, or, Hif- 
tory of the French Clergy, p. 328. 

The following information was communicated in a 
letter from a gentleman of the firft respectability in Eu- 
rope, to his friend in the United States, dated Sept. 180c. 

u I cannot refrain from mentioning another particu- 
lar. A Count Soden, proprietor of lands on the borders 
cf the Black Foreft, has feveral fmall Iron Works en his 
e Sates, which occafioned him to be continually riding 
from place to place during the flay of Jourdan's army, 
in that country, in 1796. He published, at Nuremburg, 
an account of his own obfervations. He had many 
tranfactions with the different detachments who ravaged 
that country, fo that he was perfectly acquainted with 
the ftate and conduct of that army. He lays, that to 
keep the army always m good humor, there was a fund 
for a theatre, and concerts of mufic, and balls, at every 
head-quarters, and that a liberal allowance was granted 
to the officers who took with them their wives and mif- 
treffes. Each had as many bed-fellows as he could fup- 
port by his plunder. The ladies, of courfe, were the 
patronefle.s of every gaiety and elegance. But lying in, 
and particularly, nurfmg, was altogether incompatibly 



and Effcfls of Illuminifm. 22j 

ing with the Swifs ; or the deteftable arts by 
which Geneva was fubjugated to her will ? 
Has fhe recommended herfelf to Americans 
by her determination to plunder us of our 
property ?■• By her meditated attack on the 
fouthern ftates ? f or by thofe unprovoked dep- 

with this plan of the National Councils. The only rem- 
edy for this, which occurred to their wifdom, was (hor- 

refco refer ens I) to. drown the newborn infants*] to 

drown them ! ! ! This was actually done under military 
efcort. A ferjeant and party of foldiers accompanied 
the murderers, and protected them from the peafants. 
Count Soden did not fee any of thefe facrifices with his 
own eyes, but he faw two of the innocent victims, and 
he heard feveral of thefe accounts in a way that he could 
not doubt of their truth. In particular, he faw a clergy- 
man, at a village about 1 2 Englifn miles from Nurem- 
burg, who being alfo a magiilrate, attempted to hinder 
the perpetration of the horrid deed. The foldiers threw 
him into the river, and fired fome fhots at him and at 
thofe who faved him. He was fo fortunate as to fave 
the little innocent, and took it to his houfe and provided 
a nurfe for it. The mother went away next day, with the 
'reft of the party, but ftaid feven weeks at a little town 
five miles off, and in all that time, never once fent 
to inquire whether this iiTue of her own blood was dead 
or alive. All this is publifhed by Count Soden, and his 
name affixed as a voucher for die truth of it. I defy the 
annals of human debafement to match this." 

* See Barlow's Letter, March 1, 1798* 
f Harper's Addrefs of March 2, 1799. 



228 Proofs of the Exiftence 

redations on our commerce, condemned by a 
moft refpe&able member of their legiflature, 
as equally inconiiftent with good faith, and 
found policy ?* 

Not admitting the above as the foundation 
of their attachment to France, her partifans 
will probably rather recur to their ufual plea, 
which, however deflitute of fubftance, has a 
more reputable afpeft, viz. gratitude, yes 
gratitude, never to be cancelled, for her af- 
forded protection. It is no fmall trial of pa- 
tience to be compelled to anfwer pleas, which 
have no foundation in reafon, nor even in the 
mind of the perfon who makes them ; and 
which are brought forward merely to conceal 
lefs honorable fentiments. It is very eafy to 
anfwer in the prefent cafe, that if gratitude 
is ftill due for affiftance, for which the flipu- 
lated price has been paid in full, and which was 
afforded, as every one muft be fenlible, and as 
the National Affembly have acknowledged, not 
from a regard to the interefts of republican- 
ifm, but from oppofition to England, this 
gratitude is due to the ancient, and not to 
the prefent government of France j and ought 
to lead us to deplore the fate of an unhappy 
king, and not to attach us to thofe who, with 

* Pafioret's motion in the Council of 500, 1797. 



and Effeds of Illwniwfriu 229 

circumftances of neediefs and unfeeling cruelty, 
have deprived him of his crown and life/* 

Or will they juftify their partiality for 
France by the plea, that it is a Jijier republic ; 
the land of liberty ? It is liyled, indeed, a re- 
public, but in reality, a more defpotic govern- 
ment does not exift in Europe. From the be- 
ginning of the revolution the people have been 
the dupes of fucceffive factious leaders, who 
have miiled one part by falfe representations,, 
and drove the other by terror into a compli- 
ance with their ambitious views. But now, 
their government is in theory, as w T eiias prac- 
tice, defpotic. However favorable to the nat- 
ural rights of men, we may believe the feveral 
conftitutions fuccefiively adopted in the years 
1791, 1/93? and 1795, to have been, the prek 
ent leaves the people but a very faint fem- 
blance of reprefentation or legislative power. 



* Among many inftances in confirmation of this facr, 
It is fufficient to obferve, " that the head of the princefs 
Lambalie was hoiited on a pike, and carried before the 
temple where the royal family were imprifoned, and they 
were called to the window to fee it. A fainting fit, from 
hearing of the event, fortunately faved the queen from the 
heart-rending fight." See Moore's and Clery's Journals, 



- j° Proofs of the Ex'fience 

Are we not then warranted in prefuming. 
that, among the more enlightened citizens, at 
leaft, the real grounds of attachment toFrance 2 
are different from the oftenfible ones ? 

2d. To what other caufe, than the one here 
ftiggeftecl, can we afcribe that oppofition to all 
the leading meafures of the late adminiftra- 
tion, which has been uniformly maintained 
by thofe identical perfons, who have manifeft- 
ed fuch a ftrange predilection for French pol- 
itics ? The notoriety of this oppofition, ren- 
ders it unneceffary to adduce any proofs of 
its exiftence. That our rulers have committed 
errors, is prefumable. They w r ere human be- 
ings, and had to explore a new, and untried 
path, amidft innumerable difficulties, without 
the ufeful aid of precedent and experience. 
But were thofe errors fuch as afforded any 
juft pretext for the perpetual clamors, the 
factions, 'cabals, and infurrections, w r ith which 
they have been oppofed, and impeded ? What- 
ever may have been their errors, the refult of 
their meafures has been the eftablifhment of 
peace with the nations of Europe ; peace with 
the Indians upon the principles of humanity, 
-and with profpecls of permanency: the prefer- 
vation of our neutrality againft artful and vio- 
lent attempts to involve us in European con- 



and Effects of Illuminifnu 

tuitions ; the confolidation of our feeble 
union, and the reftoration of that vigor and' 
energy which were almoft exhaufted. Our 
deranged finances "have been reduced to a reg- 
ular fyftem, and a revenue raifed, which, 
though fcarcely perceived in its operation, has 
been adequate to the fupport of government, 
has anfwered many extraordinary demands, 
and effected a confiderable reduction of the 
public debt. To the fame judicious fyftem, 
are we indebted for the exiftence of a Avrrv, 
which has enabled us to repel many .wanton 
encroachments on our neutral rights, and 
been the principal means of our preient com- 
mercial profperity. Favorable arrangements 
were alfo made for the recovery of our prop- 
erty from the hands of fpoilers ; and that this 
provifton has not been more complete has 
probably been owing to the belief which the 
French government entertained of their influ- 
ence in the United States, With great juft- 
nefs, Prefident Jefferson announced, in his- 
inaugural fpeech, that our government, at 
the clofe of our late adminiftration, was " in 
the full tide oifuccefsful experiment." 

I fliall not attempt a further judication 
df thofe meafures which have been fo feverely 
cenfured... All who have witneiTed the difficul- 



232 Pr, 

tics from which we have been extricated : and 
the profperity which has refulted to all claffes 
of citizens, from the meafures which have 
been adopted and purfued, in the two late 
adminiftrations, and yet remain unfatisfied, 
as to their wifdom, I can have no hope of. 
convincing by any arguments I can ufe. It 
it, however, to be remarked, that thefe 
meafures were adopted by Washington and 
Adams, and warmly recommended by them, 
as indifpenfible to the peace and profperity of 
the United States, and the perpetuity of their 
union and independence. We may probably 
foon be called to witnefs the effects of a de- 
parture from their falutary fyftem. 

To what caufe then are we to attribute the 
oppoiition which has been made to fuch men, 
and fuch meafures ; men, who have given the 
mod unequivocal proofs of a wife, patriotic, 
and faithful adherence to the principles of ra- 
tional liberty, and the interefts of America, 
through fcenes which try men's principles \ 
meafures, which have procured to this coun- 
try, refpeftability abroad, and profperity and 
firength at home ? The nature and fyftematic 
operations of this oppoiition appear perfectly 
unaccountable and myfterious, unlefs we recur 
to iomt fecrei influence, This influence, mov- 



and Effefts of Tllumlnifm. 23.3 

Ing many hidden fprings, produces thofe uni- 
form effeds which are vifibie in all parts of 
our country. And this concluflon forces itfelf 
upon our minds when we recoiled, that the 
clafs of men who raife this outcry, and who 
are fo extremely jealous of any encroachments 
on the privileges of mankind, are the very 
perfons who juftify all the extravagant <md 
tyrannical proceedings of the French govern- 
ment ; not excepting that arbitrary act of the 
directory, in 1797, which drove into baniih- 
ment, without the form of a trial, feme of the 
beft of her legiflators, and the molt worth 
her citizens, 

3d. Whence is it, that this jealous concern 
for the liberties of America, this nice 
the rights of man, (to which is afcribed the- 
Oppofition to government) originated in 
.fouthern States, is (till moft prevalent there, 
and is thence conVmunieated to the eafiern 
States ? I certainly have no difppfition to fo- 
ment a ibirit of divifion, nor v/ould I lu^eit 
an idea detracting from the refped clue to 
many fouthern gentlemen, whole fortunes 
have been devoted to the purfuits, not of 
pleafure, but of the liberal arts, and who have 
become bleffings and ornaments to their coun- 
try j but, as an opposition in. principles h ! 



Proofs of the Exiftence 

known to exift, it becomes neceffary, in order 
to acquire juft notions of liberty, that the 
origin and tendency of tlrefe principles ihould 
be freely difcuiTed. Some obfervations on the 
fubject are evidently of importance in the 
preient inquiry. I muft, therefore, take the 
liberty of aiking, if the principles, which have 
attached many of the citizens of the United 
\\d rendered them oppofed 
to the leading rneaiures adopted by Wash- 
ington and Adams, flow from an enlightened 
it of freedom, whence is it, that thefe fen- 
timents are found, originally, and principally, 
rn part of the Union ? 

Are the habits and manners of the people 
•e, more congenial to the fpirit of genuine 
republicaxiifm ? or are the citizens generally 
better informed? Do they acquire this pa- 
triotic fpirit in their elective affemblies, where, 
we have been informed, by one of their own 
legiilators, that bludgeons are fubftituted for 
proxies, and the arguments of the citizens 
acquire weight in proportion to their bodily 
ftrength and activity ? In drawing the por- 
trait of a true republican, would you reprefent 
him with one hand contending for the rights 
of man, and with the other holding a fcourge 
over his trembling Haves ? 



and Effeflts of Illuminifm.- _ 235. 

It has been fuppofed of the nrfl importance 
in republican governments, that the lower 
claffes of the people be well informed ; that 
youth be taught to fuhject their paffions to 
the dictates of -reafon and duty, and be early 
trained to habits of virtue, induftry, and 
economy. But if, as has been reprefented, 
New England be the " La Vendee of America, 5 ' 
and its inhabitants ariftocrats, until they are 
politically regenerated by the fouthern Hates, 
the above principles of education muft be 
renounced as erroneous, and the race ground, 
and the gaming table, acknowledged the beft 
fchool for the education of republicans. 

Here newparadoxesoccur,andparadoxes they 
remain till we recollect, that Illuminifm firft 
dawned upon the fouthern ftates ; that they 
formed the principal refort for European 
emigrants, and there only, we difcover the 
lodges which derive their origin from the 
Grand. Orient, at Paris, Have we, then, no 
grounds to conclude that thefe outrageous 
pretenders to liberty, who " difpife govern- 
ment, and are not afraid to fpeak evil of 
dignities/' are the genuine offspring of that 
fe<Tt 5 which we have feen alike oppofed to the 
xeilraints of religion^ and the laws of fociety I 



2^5 Proofs of the Exiftmc* 

Why do we hear, from the fame quarter, 
the clergy of New. England reprefented, not 
only as ufelefs, but a public nuifance.* I 
fliall not undertake the defence of this order 
of men, nor attempt a refutation of the various, 
and very indefinite charges brought againfl 
them. The people of New England are 
acquainted . with their clergy, and can judge 
for themfelves, whether or not they are juftly 
cenfured. One charge, however, as it is 
more frequently aliedged, and refpecte their 
fecret intentions, and therefore not fo eafily 
refuted, demands more particular attention. 
The charge to which I refer, is, in fubflance, 
this, that they are unfriendly to the political" 
interefls of their country, and the principles of 
the American revolution. Is this a fad ? If 
it be proved, I prefume it muft be by the* 
fame kind of logic, by which thofe who bring, 
the charge, attempt to prove that Washing- 
ton was blind to the interefts of his country j 
Adams, a monarchist ; and the citizens cf 
New England, ariftocrats. But let us attend- 
to fads. 

# In prccf of the facl here intimated, I beg leave to refer 
the reader to thofe newfpapers in which Wafliington's 
fyftem of politics is condemned, and the meafures of 
France advocated in the grofs. 



umuiiniu- 

It is a matter of public notoriety, that at 
the time of the American revolution, no clafs 
of men were more united, or more active in 
their efforts to promote that caufe. Their 
public performances afford, alfo, abundant 
proofs of their warm attachment to the French 
revolution, until it became evident that the 
caufe in which France had embarked, was the 
caufe of licentioufnefs, oppreffion, and atheifau 
Have then thefe men in a body relinquished 
that fyftem of political faith, which,, at that 
period, they fo fervently embraced ? To what 
probable caufe, can fuch a general revolution, 
of fentiment be attributed I 

Their accufers will not probably afcribe it 
to their ignorance, for they likewife accufe 
them of meddling too much with politics ; it 
is therefore prefumable that they have, at leaft ? 
acquired political information* 

Will it be faid that the profpeds of ambition 
have led them aftray ? This would be a very 
uncharitable fuppolition indeed ; for although 
they are men cf like pajffions with others, they 
are not, in all cafes, expofed to like tempta- 
tions. Excluded, by their profeffion, from 
polls of worldly honor and profit, they are 
merely fpeclators of the contentions o£ 



238 Proofs of the Exijlt n 

ambition. Unlefs they are influenced by $ 
patriotic concern for their countrymen, they 
have no connection with government, other 
than to fecure'for themfelves the bleflings of 
freedom, and to tranfmit the precious inher- 
itance to their pofterity. In hafte to deprive 
them of public confidence, their accufers have 
induftrioufly, and indifcriminately applied to 
the clergy here, the charges brought againft 
the order in Europe. But what fimilarity in- 
fituation is there between the cardinals, 
bifhops, and lords fpiritual, of the European 
hierarchies, and an American clergyman, 
who, by the fcantinefs of his fupport is com- 
pelled to the moft rigid economy, and often 
to labor with his own hands, to obtain 
a decent fupport for his dependants ; and 
inftead of the profpeft of preferment, muft 
confider himfelf fortunate if he be not difpof* 
feffed of his office, and fubjecled to the 
inconveniences of a removal ? 

Their poverty, indeed, expofes them to 
temptations, in point of property, fhould fuch 
temptations prefent ; but it is fortunate, with 
refpecl to this charge, that the public meafures 
to which they have confcientioufly given 
their fupport, have been unfavorable to their 
private interefts. The duties of impofts and ex*- 



und -Effeas of Illuminifnn 239 

cife, which are taken from the confumer, and 
•the eftablifhment of banks, which has operated 
greatly to advance the price of every article 
of life, have reduced their means of fubfift- 
ence. This has been fo obvious, that their 
parifhioners, in general, have felt themfelves 
bound in juftice to increafe the nominal fum, 
to preferve the original value of their {Upends. 
The clergy, alone, are excluded a mare in the 
increasing wealth of their country ; and were 
~they governed by felfiih motives, merely, 
-would be the firft to oppofe, rather than the 
iirft to defend the adminiftration. 

But it has alfo been fuggefted, that, in 
efpoufing this caufe, they have meanly courted 
the favor of the majority. For an anfwer to 
this charge, facts declare the truth ; for it is 
a known fad, that many of the clergy have 
nobly maintained their fentiments,and warned 
their hearers of their danger, at the hazard 
of their difpleafure, and of offending par- 
ticular gentlemen of influence. The author 
in particular, pieafes himfelf, that he, at leaft, 
{hall efcape the charge of a time-ferver, as he 
is weekly notified, through the medium of the 
Worcefter Gazette, by one high in office, that 
the caufe lie here advocates, is fail finking 



Proofs of the Exijtence 

into contempt ; and that he already forefees 
the "downfall of Federal Clergymen." 

The above obfervations are not fo much 
defigned to vindicate the clerical order, as to 
develope the real deligns of their calumniators. 
Thefe accufations appear as groundlefs as the 
attachment of their authors to French politics* 
It is to be prefumed that they are not the real 
caufes of the prefcnt oppofition to the clergy 
of New England. No ; their attachment to 
order, the refiftance they make to the progrefs 
of philofophifm, their exertions in defence of 
Chrifdanity, and their attempts to imprefs its 
important, but unwelcome truths, on man- 
d, conftitute their real crime, in the judg- 
ment of their accufers. Political opinions 
prove a convenient cover for fchemes not yet 
ripe for execution. Were the enemies of 
religion among us to come forward unmalked, 
and avow their real defigns, it would be 
demonftrative proof that they h|d apofcatized 
from the principles of their mailer ; but the 
difciples of Voltaire and Weifliaupt are true 
to their favorite maxims, cc to bind men with 
invifible bands. To ftrike, but hide the hand." 

We accordingly find thofe who are endeav- 
oring to deprive the clergy of all public 



and Effeffs cf lllumimfm* 241 

confidence, abounding in what D'Aiembert 
calls " bows to religion'' Religion is carefully 
fpoken of with high refpect, in thofe publica- 
tions which denounce the body of the clergy 
as hoftile to the interefts of their country, 
" They muft be gained or ruined/' the reader 
will recoiled, is a prime maxim of the order ; 
but finding that the clergy of New England 
will not be induced to betray their religion 
and country, and confign themfelves and 
their pofterity to infamy and wretchedneis, 
they are unceafmgiy reprefented,as attempting 
to fubvert thofe eftablifnments to which they 
have invariably given their fupport, and to 
annex to their office the honors and emolu- 
ments which are peculiar to the corrupt 
religious eftablifhments in Europe. 

That friends to order and religion, by a 
feries of mifreprefentations, are led to give 
their fupport to fyftems, which, if free.from 
deception, they would deteft, is not to be 
doubted ; but the man who approves the 
principles on which the French revolution 
has been conducted, and is pleafed w r ith that 
liberty and independence, which have received 
the fanciion of the National Affembly, cannot 
but wifh for the abolition of the Chriftian 
faith, and whatever gives it fupport. 
w 



Proofs of the Exiflence 

The reader will remark, that the fame 
evidence which proves that Iilumi,nifm, or 
French influence, (for one involves the other) 
has exifted in America, proves that it now 
exifts among us. The fimilarity of the effect, 
indicates the famenefs of the caufe. In 1794, 
we find Fauchet Iketching the grievances 
which excited the weftern infurreclion. In 
1797, appeared the focieties of United Irifli- 
men. In the fame year, the American Envoys 
were allured, "That it was in vain for them 
to think of uniting their countrymen againft 
France, by expofmg the unreafonablenefs of 
their demands. You ought to know," they 
are told, " that the diplomatic Jkill of France, 
and the means Jhe pojfejfes in your country, are 
fufficient to enable her, with the French party 
in America, to throw the blame which will 
attend the rupture of the negociations, on the 
federalifts ; and you may allure yourfelves 
this will be done."* 

At the fafee period, Mr. Pinckney was told 
by another French negociator, " we know we 
have a very corifiderable party in America, 
who are ftrongly in our interefts."t Has this' 

f D iJ patches from American Envoys, publiihed by the 

Secretary of State, No. 2. 

+ Ibid. Exhibit A, No. 4. 



and Ffficls of Illuminym. 



-*43 



cc French party in America," this "very ppn- 
fiderable party," on which the Directory 
placed fd much dependance in 1797,. became 
entirely extinct ? Have they been in no 
degree active, fince that period, to excite 
jcaloufies, foment divifions, alienate the citi- 
zens from their beft friends, to diffeminare 
the principles of infidel philofophy, and over- 
turn the ancient happy eftabKfliments of our 
country ? 

If, in their attempts to deprive us of our 
religion, they have not obtained an equ; 
decided victory, zeal has not been v 
nor has their fuccefs been incc: 
principal bulwarks are yet fafe. O t 

not configned to the flames ;. nor our places 
of worihip devoted to idolatry, and p< 
rites. The Chriflian fabbath. al 
with practical contempt by fame w 
to give it their firm and dec 
not yet aboliflied by law. But r 
outworks are iathe power of the enc 



they are daily making regular and ah 
approaches. 

It is not my intention, by the foregoing ob- 
servations, to implicate all thofe who err in 
their political opinions, as engaged in the con* 



244 Proofs of the Exijlence 

fpiracy againft Chriftianity, and fecial order. 
This is far from being the cafe ; yet I have no 
doubt that many perfons, who are fincere 
friends to religion, their country, and man- 
kind, are led, by a feries of mifreprefentations, 
to give their fupport to fyftems, which, if feen 
in their true nature and tendency, would ex- 
cite their abhorrence. It is, indeed, aftonifh- 
ing that good characters, real friends to ChrifU 
ianity, Ihould be fo eafily filled with fufpicion 
and jealoufy towards men of eftablilhed char- 
after, for piety, talents, and patriotifm, and 
drawn in to aid the enemies of their religion, 
;heir country ; and this too, by perfons* 
whe 1 and religious charafters they cannot 

but hold la abhorrence ; but Weiihaupt him- 
felf wondered at the fuccefs of his own policy, 
and in his confidential epiftles, often exclaims, 
rM What cannot men be made to believe." 

Perfuaded that many are unwarily led to 
advocate a caufe which militates againft the 
beft interefts of their country, thefe hiitorical 
fketches, and articles of evidence, have been 
collected for their benefit ; and with the fame 
friendly defign their calm and unprejudiced 
attention is requeited to the contents of the 
following 



and E feels of Ilhimmifm. 24 5 

ADDRESS. 

Friends, and Fellow Citizens, 

I am very fenfible that the difcerning eye will 
difcover many defects in the foregoing flate- 
ment, but they are errors of the head, not of 
the heart. There is not a circumftance inten- 
tionally mifreprefented, nor a fentiment cx- 
preffed, which is not the refult of conviction. 
I am aware that feme from policy, and others 
from fentiment, will be difpofed to treat thefe 
apprehenfions as chimerical ; but to me they 
are real. In my view, alarming dangers 
hang over my country, and even now the 
lurking foe is preparing an explofion, which, 
unlefs- prevented, will level her riling glories 
with the dufL Poffeffing thefe fentiments, 
neither duty nor patriotifm would fuffer me 
to decline a, fervice, however ungrateful-; 
which afforded fome profpect of aiding a c 
to which I feel myfeif connected by the fttbng- 
eft ties of affection. Your country., is my 
country.; here I have a family, dear to me, 
and friends, whofe fortune, with my own, is 
connected with that of America. Can I then 
fee her dangers, and be filent ? 

w 2 



$4& ' Proofs of the Exijlcnce 

Warmly has my heart entered into the pleat- 
ing profpects which have dawned upon the 
land of my nativity, nor will I yet defpair of 
lier falvation, confiding in that helping hand 5 
which has been her guide in darknefs, and her 
fhield in danger. Numerous and powerful 
ftill are her friends, could they be roufed to 
exertion ; and exertion there mud be, or our 
ruin is inevitable* If propitious heaven has 
decreed falvation for our country, means will 
be found to difpel the facinating charm which 
is now drawing her into the ravenous jaws of 
her devourer. She will be enabled to diftin- 
guifh real from pretended friends* While we 
are fupine and indolent, refting in the good- 
nefs of our caufe, and fondly hearkening to 
thofe who cry peace and fafety, the enemies 
of our peace, of cur independence, of our re- 
ligion, are alert and reftlefs. It is painful and 
alarming to hear worthy citizens applauding 
themfelves for the fagacious difcovery, that the 
commotions of the day are merely agitations 
excited by contending candidates ; that we are 
all aiming, in different ways, at the fame objed; 
"that we are all federalifts, all republicans/* 
Thefe fentiments, induftriouily propagated by 
thofe who wilh to lull us into fecurity, unfor- 
tunately accord with that love of eafe, fo un- 
happily prevalent in our moll important 
concerns. 



and Effefts of lllumimfm. £47 

Under a like paralytk ftupor, the effect of 
French intrigue, and modern illumination, 
the Helvetic republic fell a prey to her treach- 
erous invaders. " The inhabitants feemed 
fearful of being roufed from their indiffer- 
ence, and were offended at predictions meant 
to put them on their guard. Woe to him 
who difturbed the general quiet by peevifh 
reafoning on the future, and on the danger of 
connections in which they were finking deeper 
and deeper ! The majority of the Swifs were 
like thofe patients who are angry with ' the 
phyfician for defcribing their diforder to 
them. 5 '* " We come among you as friends, 
We are your brothers. Do not be afraid of 
any ill treatment. Property and perfons 
ihall be projected, as much as the enemies of 
liberty fhall be made to fuffer."f This was the 
language of Mengaud, commiflioner of the 
Executive Directory, in his proclamation, pre- 
faced with "Peace and fafety to all his friends." 
The too credulous Swifs greedily drank the 
lufcious poifon j they believed that the Direo- 

* Mallet Du Pan's Deftru&ion of the Helvetic Repub- 
l!c,Boftmi edit. 1799. p. 108. A book that ought now to 
be read by every American* 

f Ibid. p. 256, 



24-S Proofs of the. Exifence 

tory were, what they pretended to be, friends 
to freedom, and the rights of man. They 
even banifhed their faithful monitor, when he 
endeavored to awaken them to a fenfe of their 
danger. But " impnfonmen/s, infults, rapes, requi- 
fliicns, and rapine of all kinds, fignalized the 
arrival of thefe ftrangers, whom Mengaud had 
but juft announced to their victims as brothers 
and friends"* 

Confide not, my countrymen, in an imagine 
ary. power to refift the fubtle invaders, when 
once they have bound your hands with invifi- 
ble bands. Your enemies themfelves haye 
forewarned you, "that an army of principles 
will prevail, where an army offofdiers oannot."f 
When they have fufficiently corrupted your 
morals, philofophized your religion, overturned 
your ancient eftablifnments, and diffeminated 
their diforganizing principles among you, then 
will they rife upon their prey, and add America 
to the lift of "fleeced" republics. 

^ Mallet Du Pan, defcribing the fituation of 
Switzerland, previous to the late revolution 

* Mallet Du Pan's Definition of Helvetic Republic, 
P- Hi- 

f Thomas Paine. 



and Effefts of Iilwnlnlpn, 249 

there, obferves, " There was no State in Eu- 
rope fo fecure from the contagion of French 
principles ; every thing was an antidote to 
this peftilence : The flow and phlegmatic 
character of the inhabitants, their rooted and 
powerful habits, the experience of a govern- 
ment adapted to their difpo-fltions ; and, in 
fine, the foundnefs of their judgments, which 
guarded them againft the reductions of the 
pen j and of the tongue. If fach examples 
will not teach, nor fuch warnings alarm us, cur 
ruin is not far diftant. 

It is a falfe and dangerous fentiment that 
" monarchies alone have caufe to dread the 
revolutionizing fpirit of the times ;* J for it is 
obvious that republics are the theatres on 
which political mountebanks moft fuccefsfully 
exhibit their diforganizing feats, Where, as 
in fuch governments, popular elections are fre- 
quent, and the poifon which infe&s a diftant 
member, is inftatitly" conveyed to the vitals. 
When an individual is gained, a lodgement is 
made in the government, of which that indi- 
vidual forms a part, either in perfon, or by his 
agent ; and. his influence is inftantaneoufly 
felt. In monarchical governments it is very 
different. The difeafe, which there pervades 
the external parts, but very remotely affects 



a$o Prot r nce 

the vital, active powers of government. How 
feeble the imprefiion which France was able 
to make upon England, compared with the 
fhock which the republics of Europe received 
from her revolutionary agents ? The combina- 
tion of United Jrijhmen^ and fimilar focietics in 
England and Scotland, produced no vifible al- 
teration in the Britifh government ; but had it 
been fimilar to the American, a complete 
revolution muft have been the confequence. 

The fame caufe which renders republics 
more accefiible to thefe evils, proportionally 
prevents their fuppreffion ; for thofe danger- 
ous perfons form directly or indirectly, that 
very power on which fociety depends to expel 
the foe ; and hence, the government, in 
this refpeft, is reduced to a nulity. Nor is a 
large number of confpirators neeefiary to 
raife obftructlons and impede the govern/- 
ment ; for in every fociety thefe perfons find 
many natural allies, ever ready to join their 
forces. Such are disappointed candidates, 
who are commonly willing rather to impede 
and perplex, than to affift their more fuccefsful 
competitors ; fuch are thofe, and they are not 
a fmall party, who, from a natural jealoufy of 
their rulers, are prepared to credit every 
unfavorable intimation concerning them 5 



i 



and Effects of llluminlfm. 251 

however improbable or abfurd. Such, in 
fine, are thofe felfifh beings, whom no confid- 
erations of public good will induce to act with 
any vigor: Thefe, if they do not appear in. 
direct oppofltion to government, are fo many 
clogs and impediments to its vigilance and 
activity. Thefe plain ohfervations are intro- 
duced to awaken you, my countrymen, to 
that virtuous watchfulneu and fetmnefs, 
neceffary to preferve a free government, and 
to put you upon your guard againft the 
diforganizing arts of thofe, who, under 
whatever pretext, are endeavoring to over- 
turn the fyftems and eftablifiiments which 
experience has taught you are ufeful. 

Do you aik, what is 10 be done ? As lift* 
common abilities and penetration are lefs 
ufeful in a fearch after happinefs, than 
upright intentions and an honeft heart, I {hall 
attempt an anfwer to the fuggefted inquiry. 
The ingredients of mental and focial hapgj- 
neis, like the laecefiaries of life, confift in 
fmipies, and are eafily obtained. When the 
theorizing geniufes of the day have invented 
a better medium of refpiration than the vital 
air, or a bodily aliment preferable to that 
ch nature provides, then will they merit 
taring, while they promife us a Utopia in 



a $2 Proofs of the Exijlence 

the regions of infidelity, and quiet repofe on 
the billows of a revolution. But if you wifh 
for that kind of order and quietnefs, for 
which our favored land has been diftinguifh- 
ed, the following diredions point out a plain 
and fafe path. 

i. Attend to the education of your 
children, and let it be your principal care to 
imprefs their minds with religious and moral 
truth. Much has been faid, and much more 
might be pertinently faid, upon the import- 
ance of education. The youthful mind is a 
field prepared for the reception of precious 
feed ; but if neglected, will foon be overfpread 
w T ith every poifonous growth. I am con- 
vinced that faithful endeavors to infill the 
principles of virtue and religion into the 
minds of youth, is attended with a much 
greater probability of fuccefs than is ufually 
imagined. It is undeniable, that early im- 
preffions, which have appeared to be entirely 
efafed by the influence of ftrong paflions and 
peculiar temptations, have furvived the fhock, 
and produced the happieft effects. Even 
where this is not attained, early habits of 
regularity, decency, and induflry, are not of 
fmall importance in fociety, nor are they eafily 
loft. The imprefiions made by fuch an educa* 



iinci Bffefil of M 253 

tion have evidently had a great effect in. 
preventing the influence of the diforganizrng 

principles- of the day, in the New England 
ftates. 

A religious education was formerly repre- 
bated by infidels, under the pretence that it 
gave a bias to the mind before the judgment 
was matured ; but they themfelves have 
removed this objection ; they are ndt alhamed 
to make it a maxim in their code, to feize 
the young, untutored mind, and infufe into 
the unfufpeciing heart the poifon of atheiim. 
Learn from your enemies the importance of 
early impreilions, and while they are attempt- 
ing to dilieminate the feeds of infidelity, let 
it be your watchful care to introduce the 
vigorous plants of piety and \ r irtue. Furnifii 
their minds with ufeful knowledge ; teach 
them the true dignity of man ; read to them 
the leffons of experience, habituate them to 
felf government, the regulation of their 
paiTions, and a ready fubmiflion to needful 
restraints. Attend to their books, and exclude 
the numerous publications which are either 
fecretly, or avowedly, defigned to propagate 
the immoral and irreligious fpirit of the 
times ; or, if this is not practicable, let them 

not be without the antidote furnifhed in 

x 



'254 Proofs oftheExiflcncc 

many late able replies to the pleas of 'infidelity. 
We deny our profeffion as Chriftians, if it is 
not our firft concern, in the education of our 
children, to imprefs their minds with the 
fear of God ; to eftablifh them in the princi- 
pies of natural and revealed religion, and the 
-evidences of the Chriftian faith. 

The talk of forming the youthful mind, at 
all times one of the moil important duties in 
fociety, acquires, in prefent circumftances, an 
increafed demand on our attention. Religion, 
fociety, parental affection, unite in the 
demand. It .would be happy, if prefent dan- 
gers fhould prove the means of awakening 
the attention of the vChriftian world, to a 
.fubjeel fo deplorably neglected* 

It is fervently to be hoped, in particular, 

<that our Colleges, and other literary inftitu- 

,.tions, will be prcferved from contamination. 

Thefe are principal objects in the view of tli£ 

modern enemies of jnankind. In obferving 

.-the weakneffes of human nature, they have 

difcovered, that a youth of genius, thirfting 

for literary fame, whofe education was un- 

finiflied, and his judgment immatured, was 

,precifely in a fituation to be impreffed with 

t feae jufcin&ting charms of Illuminifm, arid 



and Effects of lllumhvfm. 255. 

prepared to exchange his understanding and 
confcience, for the flattering. title of a philofo- 
pher. Much depends-, at this day, upon the 
gaurdians of our public feminaries, and muclv 
we expect from their fidelity and zeal, in 
preferring, thefe public fountains from im- 
purities. 

2-.- Support thofe inftitutions of your an*- 
eeftors, which you have feen crowned with 
peace, glory, and happinefs. When will 
mankind receive the inftruction fo forcibly 
impreiTed by univerfal hiftory, by daily obser- 
vation, and the word of God, that " Right eoiif- 
nefs alonee xalteth a nation ?" That rank atheifm 
is deftru6tive to fociety, receives a ready affent 
from thofe who appear infenfible of what is 
equally true, that a departure from the habits 
and principles of fixict virtue and religion, is 
an approximation to atheifm, and a departure 
from the only folid foundation of focial order 
and peace. They forget that it is religion, 
not in theory, but in practice, which confti- 
tutes the happinefs of an individual, and of a 
nation. 

Men who derive their importance from 
ftiowy accomplifhments, and the gewgaws of 
life, look with contempt upon the Ample man* 



a $5 Proofs of the Exijience 

ners of our venerable ancefters ; but whatever 
advancements we have made in ufeful dis- 
coveries and the elegant arts of life, -juftice 
inquires that we afcribe to their virtues our 
moft precious bleffings. In a ftrift attention 
to family government, in early habits of in- 
duftry, in a fmcerity, fimplicity and temper- 
ance of manners, and in the civil, literary, 
and religious eftablifhments of our country, 
they laid the foundations of what remians of 
glory and ftrength in the American edifice. 
We do not afcribe to them perfection. Human 
nature will be attended with the chara&eriftics 
of weaknefs. In them, a zeal for the truth 
degenerated into a degree of intolerance ; but 
have not we rallied with violence into the 
oppofite and more dangerous extreme ? The 
narrow path of virtue is ftretched to an 
almoft unbounded width j and in thefe days 
of catholicifm, the idea that infidelity dif- 
qualifies for public offices, or even for future 
happinefs,is condemned as a fpecies of bigotry. 
It is eafy to perceive that fuch a relaxation of 
moral and religious principles is, in its effects, 
a near approach to atheifm. The checks 
neceflary to reftrain the ftrong corruptions of 
the heart are taken away, and thefe corrup- 
tions, as they gain ftrength, gradually under- 
mine, and, in their progrefs, will demolifh the 
ftrongeft bulwarks of fociety. 



and Effects of ' Illuminifm. 2$y 

When an individual loofes his habits of 
induftry, acquires a relifli for expenfive living, 
and feeks in fcenes of diffipation that fatisfac- 
tion which he no longer finds in the fober 
pleafures of "life, we forefee his ruin, and 
withdraw our confidence ; and can a fociety 
compofed cf fuch individuals, be long pros- 
perous and happy ? No ; the ruin is more 
inevitable in the latter cafe, than in the for- 
mer ; for a profligate individual may be con- 
troled, perhaps reformed, by his fober neigh- 
bors, but when vicious manners become 
prevalent in fociety, a current is opened 
which defies all reitraint, and carries along 
with it, many who nobly attempt to refill its 
impulfe.. 

lam painfully confcious that the puritanic 
Simplicity of our anceftors, will rather excite 
a fneer o£ contempt, than a defire of imita- 
tion in this felf-important age. Enjoying the 
full tide of prosperity, moderation, temper- 
ance, and the reilraints of religion, are un- 
welcome themes : But this, my countrymen, 
is the alternative eftablifhecl in the hio*h unal- 
terable decrees of Heaven, if we participate 
the vices which have wrought the ruin of 
other nations, we muft alfo partake of- them- 
tl agues / 

X 2: 



~j8 Proofs of the Exifmcc 

It will doubtlefs be underftood that thefe 
obfervations are not defigned to recommend 
any particular uncouthnefs of manners, which 
the cuftoms of the age, or their peculiar cir- 
tumfiances produced. The value of a gem is 
not diminifhed by a polifhed furface. What 
principally demands our attention and imita- 
tion in our worthy progenitors is, their love 
of religion, and their ftricl practical regard to 
its duties, producing undifguifed fincerity, 
genuine patriotifm. Religion gave di- 
rection, vigor, and activity to all their meaf- 
ures. Religion nrft generated, and that alone 
can preferve, the glory of America. 

Guard this treafure with peculiar care- 
Here let it be remembered, the efforts of your 
enemies are fecretly,* but powerfully directed ; 
and never will they feel their victory com- 
plete until, as they themfeives exprefs their 
hope, " Ckrifianliy is ihrovm into the back 
ground." To this object they are equally 
prompted by their enmity to the holy nature 
of thi£ religion, and by a deiire to extend 
their influence over the. mind; for they can- 
not be infenfible, that while virtue exifts in 
the world, their fyftem muft meet oppofitiom 

But what are the considerations by which 
: men would induce us to renounce a 



and Effeds of llluminifvu 259 ■ 

religion, of the authenticity and benign in- 
fluence of which, we have fuch convincing 
proofs ? Modern infidels appear to have 
placed thei* principal dependance on the arti- 
cles, prieftcraft and prejudice. 

Under the ftrji, they paint, in glowing 
colors, the pride, ambition, and oppreffions 
of the papal hierarchy, and of the higher or- 
ders in other religious eftabiilhments. That 
the emoluments, injudiciouily annexed to the 
clerical office in many parts of Europe, 
fliould induce men. deftitute of religion, to 
affume the facerdotal character, is perfectly 
agreeable to the known principles of human 
nature ; and that fuch men, when in office, 
fnould difregard' their folemn engagements, 
is very probable ; but the conclufion thefe 
modern reafoners deduce from thefe premifo, 
viz. That the Chriftian religion is a fyftem 
of prieftcraft, is not fo clear. If, by afcribing 
religion to prieftcraft they mean, that thefe 
wicked priefts invented the religion taught in 
the gofpei, the abfurdity of the idea, muft be 
apparent to every perfon acquainted with its 
holy, humble doctrines. It could not be craft, 
but the higheft degree of ftupidity, in inch 
men to invent a religion, which, in the 
flrongeft terms, condemns their ambition, and 
holds them up to mankind as impoftors, 



2.6o Proofs of the Exigence. 

If they mean, that the mifconduet of fome 
of its minifters and profefibrs proves that 
Chriftianity is a fable, the inference is equally 
erroneous ; for is it evident, that if revelation 
be true, hypocrify would have had no exift- 
ence, or that ambitious men would not make 
religion a ftepping ftone to preferment ? Yet 
until it fhall be proved that wicked men 
would not thus pervert a true religion, this 
perverfion of Chriftianity, is no argument 
againft its divinity. Is gold lefs valuable be- 
caufe it has been counterfeited ; or, becaufe 
Thomas Paine pretends torcafon, is reafon a 
ufelefs faculty ? If your bibles countenance 
hypocrify, pride, and oppreilion, they are 
unworthy your regard ; but while they in- 
culcate nothing but what is virtuous and 
praife worthy, bind them to your hearts^, 
faithfully follow the directions they give, and: 
they will lead you to fafety and happinefs. 

Another inflance of modern fophiftry is, to 
refolve religion into prejudice, and conftantly 
ufe thefe terms as fynonymous. This is a 
moft popular ftroke. It is infallible with men 
of weak minds, who would be thought philcf- 
ophers. The very found of vulgar prejudices 
frightens them out of that pittance of judg- 
ment which was theirs by original inheritance; 



and Effects of lllumlnifnu • 25 1 

But is this a fact, that mankind are biafled in 
favor of doctrines which ftand oppofed to all 
the ftrong, leading paflions oi the heart ? Uni- 
verfal obfervation teaches, that we are apt to 
be prepoffeiTed in favor of what we wifh to 
be true ; but the modern do&rine of preju- 
dices, contradicts this obfervation : it repre- 
fents mankind as unaccountably difpofed to 
believe, in oppofiiion to the dictates of reafon, 
and the impulfe of inclination. 

That Voltaire, after writing forty volumes 
againftChriftianity,and fpending feventy years 
in attempting to cc crujh the wretch" ftiould 
be tormented by prejudices in favor of relig- 
ion, may appear credible to thofe who " be- 
lieve in all unbelief £* but in this, and many 
iimilar inftances, every unbiaffed mind will fee 
a fuperior power impreffing the foul with an 
irrefiftible confeioufnefs of Almighty juftice. 

Not the arguments in fupport of Chnftian- 
ity, but thofe of an oppofite nature owe their 
influence to the power of prejudice, Thefe 
deceivers are not unmindful of the oppofition 
of the heart fo the reftraints of religion. On 
this principle, corruption of morals becomes 
an important part of their fy ftem. They ftudi- 
©ufly endeavor to inflame the paflions of 



262 Proofs cf the Exijlence 

men, that the obligations of duty may be- 
come more irkfome ; and that the caufe they 
wifli to fupport, may find a more powerful 
advocate in the heart. Infidelity owes its 
ftrength, not to argument^ but to feeling,. 
An hundredth part of the evidence which, 
has been produced in fupport of the truth of. 
Chriftianity, would determine every perfon's 
judgment, in all cafes, where the inclinations 
had no influence.. 

My countrymen, fuffer not the arts of foph- 
iftry, or your own paffions, to rob you of that 
benign religion which was fo dear to your 
anceftors, which fupported them under their 
trials, rendered, their names precious to pof- 
terity, and originated eftablifhments fo happy 
in their effects.. 

3. Confider the importance of having your 
public offices filled with men of virtue and 
religion.. This is indeed included in the ex- 
ample of your anceftors. ; for they had the 
wifdom to difcern, that none but thofe who 
were friends to religion, were friends to 
fociety ; but the prefent alarming inattention 
to this fubjeel, recommends it to more pai> 
ticular notice, 



and Effects of Illuminifm. 263 

Are magiftrates the minifters of God, and 
the reprefentatives of the Supreme Ruler? 
Thus Chrijiians are taught to confider them. 
When, therefore, a nation, nominally Christ- 
ian, elect to thefe offices, men avowedly, or 
pra&ically oppofed to the Chriftian religion, 
is it not a public affront to the righteous Ruler 
of the univerfe ? However cafuifts may de- 
termine this queftion, the afpect, which the 
election of fuch men has upon the intereft of 
fociety, is in every refpect highly unfavorable. 
A perfon of this description, may faithfully 
ferve his country, or he may betray, or he 
may enflave it .; what courfe he will take, de- 
pends merely on eircumftances. A regard to 
-reputation, and what is called principles of 
honor, which might have an influence in 
fmaller concerns, ceafe to operate when the 
'high objects of ambition are prefented to the 
<mincL When a man of ambition comes within 
the reach -of fupreme power, its attraction over- 
comes the influence of thofe weaker motives 
which, for a time, held him within the fphere 
of duty. In thefe circumftances men of prin- 
ciple only, fuch as was the Jewifh Moses, and 
the American Washington, and Adams, 
will remain in their proper orbit, fuperior to 
all attraction, but that of their country's 
good. 

mm 



2-154 Proofs of the Exigence 

To pretend that a man diftitute of the 
principles of religion, will be as likely to be 
faithful to the intcrePcs of his condiments, as 
one of an oppofite character, is to deny that 
religion tends to the good of fociety. But 
have the oaths of office, a belief of the being 
and perfections of God, and of a future ftate 
of rewards and punifhments, no influence to 
excite men to fidelity ? We know they are 
nothing to him who believes, " that death is 
an everlaftlng Jleep" but they cannot fail to 
operate on every mind which is not pail 
feeling;. 

o 

It is futile to attempt to juftify an inatten- 
tion to the characters of thofe we ele£t to 
office, by pretending, that to ferve the pur- 
pofes of ambition, men may afTurne a char- 
acter which does not belong to them. It is 
not eafy for thofe who are objects of public? 
notice, to conceal, for a long period, their 
ruling paffion ; and were fuitable caution ufed, 
it is not probable that a deception would fre- 
quently take place. In any event, this cannot 
juftify inattention to the fubjeft. Shall we, 
with our eyes open, truft our deareft interefts 
with a knave, becaufe it is poffible we may be 
deceived in the man we believe to be honeft ? 
Our utmoft care to preferve our dwellings 



anclFffeds of fflumwfm. 265 

may prove ineffectual, but fhall we therefore 
put fire to them .? 

When due care is taken to elect men of 
good principles to public offices, even if the 
electors are deceived in the man of their 
choice, the object is not wholly loft. The 
character of the Supreme Ruler is duly re- 
fpected ; the public fuffrage is on the fide of 
virtue, and virtuous men are countenanced ; 
wickednefs fuffers a public frown, and the 
perfon elected, perceiving that he owed his 
advancement to a virtuous character, will be 
more careful to fupport fuch a character ; and 
temptations to neglect, or betray his truft, 
will have lefs effect upon him ; but when in- 
fidelity is no bar to promotion, or when vir- 
tue and religion are coniidered as of no im- 
portance in a public character, thefe reftraints 
are removed, and every temptation operates 
with full force. 

When men, deftitute of the principles of 
religion, are raifed to important public offices, 
the effeft muft be extremely pernicious, as it 
refpects the interefts of religion in focicty. 
You are not now to learn what influence ex- 
amples, and efpecially the examples of the 
great, have on the general ftate of manners 

Y 



i66 Proofs of the Exificnce 

and fociety. The temper of fuch men will 
influence their manners. However they may 
adopt feme of the forms of piety, from a 
regard to appearances, their immoral and 
Anti-Chriftian feelings, will give a complex- 
ion to their whole deportment . 

I do not hefitate to fay, that the man, with , 
whom thefe confiderations have no weight, 
is a ftranger to the nature, excellence, and im- 
portance of Chriftianity, and has the heart 
of an infidel. You will not, my countrymen, 
unlefs you are fatally blinded to your own in- 
terefts, fuffer the glare of abilities, or the im- 
pulfe of a party fpirit, to allure you to cqm- 
mit the interefts of your country to men, who 
are enemies to thofe principles which form 
the pillars of fociety. 

Our inattention to the choice of public offi- 
cers is highly criminal. Many entirely neglect 
the right of fyffrage, while others bring for- 
ward the name which chance, or fome one 
more defigning than themfelves, prefents to 
them. What Ihould we fay of a ruler who 
fhould make choice of his principal officers" in 
the fame carelcfs and capricious manner ? 
'Neither an individual, nor a multitude, ought 
to have the difpofal of the affairs of a nation, 
who is not more attentive to its interefts. 



and Effects of llluminifm. 26 7 

(Sreater electioneering zeal is not, indeed, 
neceflary than appears in fome parts of our 
country ; but it is fervently to be wifhed, 
that this zeal were lefs under the impulfe of 
party fpirit, and that calm, difpaffionate citi- 
zens would m$ke it a more ferious object to 
difcover, and introduce into public offices, 
characters, whofe eledion might promife prof- 
perity to their country, 

4th. Beware of men, who leek to rob you 
of your liberties and religion, by flattering 
your paffions, and by a pretended concern for 
your interefts. This is not a new mode of 
deception, but, in common with other modes, 
has undergone a modern refinement. Marat, 
the greateft incendiary in France, Dr. Moore 
obferves, <c addreffed the mob in the ftyle of 
a lover to his miftrefs ; and the motto of a -. 
Journal, which he publiflied, was " Ui redeat 
miferis^ abeat fortuna fuperhis ," that is, " Take the 
money from the rich y thai it may be rejiored to the 
per" 

As a guard againft the influence of ambi- 
tious, popular men, the Athenians provided 
the fentence of oftracifm. Each citizen was 
required to write on a bone the name of the 
perfon, in his eftimation, the moll popular ; 



2 68 Proofs of the Exigence 

and he whofe name was found on the greateft 
number of bones, was banifhed from the 
Commonwealth, under the idea, that he had 
acquired an influence dangerous to the repub- 
lic. However abfurd in itfelf, and cruel in 
its operation, this practice was, it discovered 
a due fenfe of the danger arifing, in a free* 
government, from the afcendency ambitious 
men may acquire, by flattering the populace-, 
and gaining the direction of their paffions. 
While there are corrupt, ambitious men, this 
kind of influence will exift, and will be princi- 
pally found in thofe governments where its 
operation is moft pernicious. Not, however, 
in oftracifm, but in virtuous habits, and a 
watchful attention to the interefts of the pub* 
lie, fliall we find our fafety from the arts of 
thefe infidious foes. 

To confound the reputation which is the 
refult of faithful fer vices, and approved merit, 
with the popularity of an impoftor, is as inju- 
rious to the public, as to individuals. The 
former is as beneficial, as the latter is deftruc- 
tive. A fmall degree of difcernment, duly 
exercifed, is generally fufficient to detect the 
iniincerity of thofe who flatter but to deftroy. - 
If I may be indulged a quotation fo unfafhioa- 
able, 1 would lay, that Ste Paul has accurately 



and Effects of llluminifm. 26 9 

defcribed thefe deceivers ; " They zealoujly af- 
fect you," fays he, " but not well ; yea, they 
would exclude you, that ye might affedthe?n" 

The man who lives only for himfelf, while 
he pretends a deep concern for the interefts of 
fociety ; the fomenter of faftions j the feeker 
of offices ; the corrupter of morals ; the avow- 
ed enemy of Chriftianity ; the man who en- 
deavors to irritate your mind, by reprefenting 
neceffary public expenfes, as an a£t of oppref- 
fion, and thofe reftraints which the order of 
fociety requires, as tyrannical ; in fine, he who 
addreifes your paffions, rather than ! your under- 
ftandings,fuch men bear the genuine character- 
iftics of impoftors ; and are either the deluded 
agents of a party, or have themfelves defigns 
which they wifii to conceal, while they pro- 
claim themfelves the advocates of the rights 
of man, 

5th. Attend to the fources from which you 
derive your political information. The dif- 
organizers of Europe were not unmindful of 
the advantage to be derived to their caufe from 
having public preffes, and periodical publica- 
tions, under their direction. There, however, 
a degree of caution was neceffary, and an ap- 
p^.enfion of conferences gave a check to 



270 



Proofs of the Exfience 



the ILcentioufnefs of the prefs ; but in the 
United States, this medium of impofition is, 
in a great meafure, unembarraffed ; and de- 
mands very ferious attention. Excepting the 
falutary reftraints impofed by the Sedition Bi//, 
thofe who were difpofed to foment divifions t 
excite jealoufies, and difunite the people from 
their government, have had an opportunity 
of inceiTantly attacking the minds of the citi- 
zens with the groffefl mifreprefentations. 

Evils of great magnitude have already orig- 
cd from this fource of mifchie£ Objects- 
have been prefented to the public, under every 
poftihle circumftance of diftortion, and fufpi- 
cions excited which were entirely groundlefs. 
It is an outrage upon common fenfe to pre- 
tend 5 that there has been any adequate caufe 
tor the clamors and oppolition which have em- 
barraiTed the meafures of the late adminiftra- 
lion. Could the citizens of the United States 
have an impartial view of their proceedings 3 
it is to be prefumed, that ninety-nine hun- 
dredths of the virtuous, enlightened part of' 
the community, w r ould cordially approve of 
what, by the influence of mifreprefentation-, 
many are now led to reprobate* 



and Effe&s of Itlwnimfm. ijt 

An effectual remedy for the abufes of the 
prefs has not yet been discovered, and perhaps, 
in a free government, no other remedy can be 
confidently reforted to, than the virtue and 
good fenfe of the citizens ; and this, we have 
reafon to fear, will be but feeble indeed. The 
prefent ftate of the public mind is evidently 
calculated to increafe, rather than diminifh^ 
the evil. 

If, my countrymen, you will calmly and 
difpafiionately inquire after truth, means of 
information are not wanting. If you give no 
encouragement to the numerous pr6ductions 
of the day, which are plainly dictated by a 
deflre, not to inform your judgments, but to 
inflame your paffions, they will ceafe ; but 
while your * minds are open to fcurriiity, 
calumnies, and falfehoods, they will abound* 
A fpirit of party has given currency to many 
publications, from different quarters, which 
ought never to have feen the light. Truth is 
more injured than affifted, by an alliance with 
pafiion. Important truths are not, indeed, to 
be fuppreffed, hecaufe they may irritate the 
enemies of truth ; but groundlefs afperfions, 
and needlefs provocations, fhould meet your 
pointed disapprobation, if the falvation of 
your country is dearer than the fupport of a 
party. 



1J2 Proofs of the Exigence 

It is not the defign of thefe obfervations to 
difluade you from an attention to public 
affairs. Your country needs, and has a right 
to demand, your vigorous efforts. It adds an 
additional fliade to the darknefs of the prefent 
day, that, where the flimulus of party fpirit 
does not operate, there is fuch a degree of 
torpor and inattention to a fubjeft in which 
the happinefs of millions is involved. A 
neglect of public intereft rauft be viewed as 
criminal in any flate of fociety, but more 
efpecially where the people claim to be the 
fources of honor and authority. But let your 
exertions be given to your country^ not to a 
tarty ; and being convinced that religion;, 
morals, order, and a government of laws, are 
the pillars of your national profperity and 
peace, let thefe have your firm and vigorous 
fupport. 

6th. Renounce the Anti-Chriftian and ir- 
rational praftice of "fpeaking evil of digni- 
ties." " Thou fhalt not fpeak evil of the ruler 
of thy people," is one of t-hofe divine precepts 
which commends itfelf to every man's con- 
fcience by its evident propriety, and demands 
our attention as of prime importance to the 
order of fociety. It is an evil to which free 
governments are peculiarly expcfed \ and a 



and Effefls of Illuminifm. 273 

ftrong propenfity in human nature to this 
evil, has given an advantage to the diforgan- 
izers of the prefent day, which they have not 
neglected. 

The imprafticahillty of fupporting the au- 
thority of the laws, and the energy of gov- 
ernment, when the executors of thofe laws, 
and the officers of that government, are ob- 
jects of conftant fcurrility and ahufe, muft be 
obvious to every perfon of the leaft reflection. 
The experience we have had of this fpirit 
among ourfelves, is furely fufficient to fatisfy 
us of its pernicious tendency ; and under a 
change of adminiftration, it is painful to fee ma- 
ny indulging the fame fpirit, which they have 
fo juftly reprobated in others. In the perfon, 
conftitutionally invefted with authority, we 
are to contemplate, not the individual whofe 
election we once oppofed, however reafonable 
and well founded that oppofition may have 
been, but the magi/Irate, in fupporting whom, 
on constitutional ground, we fupport the gov* 
eminent of which he is the head, 

Even when the public good requires, as 
doubtlefs it may require, that the character 
and conduct of public officers fhould be expof* 
ed, a folemn decency, and not a bitter and 



ay 4 Proofs of the Exijlence 

licentious fpirit, ftill lefs a fpirit of falfehood, 
ought to mark the tranfaftion. Nor will the 
cenfurable parts of their conduct juftify our 
withholding aid, countenance, and fupport in 
the due execution of their office,, 

7th. Serioufly reflect upon the nature and 
tendency of fecret focieties, Weifhaupt him- 
felf propofes the queftion 5 " Have you any 
idea of the power of fecret focieties ?" It is 
obvious, at firft view, that they are not 
friendly to tfait harmony and cordial union 
which are fo defirable in every fociety 
Should fome of the children in a family form 
themfelves into a fecret club, exclude their 
brethren from their private meetings and con- 
fidence, and be often whifpering their fecrets, 
it is eafy to forefee that an undue partiality 
among the confederated brethren, andjeal- 
oufy, diftruft, and alienation of affection on 
the other part, would be the natural confe- 
quences- The effects will be fimilar, and 
equally certain, though they may be lefs vif- 
fible, in larger focieties. From the notorious 
tendency of fuch combinations, many weighty 
and interefting objections were made to the 
eftablifhment of the order of \ht Cincinnati ; but 
the development of the myfteries of Illumin- 
ifrn^ has given an additional weight to thefe 



and'Effefls of Illuminlfiiu 275 

arguments, and placed, in a glaring light, the 
dangerous tendency of exclufive confederacies* 

I am not infenfible that thefe remarks crim- 
inate, in a degree, the order of Mafonry. The 
refpeft I feel for many gentlemen of this order, 
among my acquaintance, who, I doubt not, 
entered the fociety with pure intentions, and 
yet remain free from this contamination ; and 
my belief of the uncorruptnefs of the New 
England lodges in general, have made it, to 
me, an ungrateful tafk to relate the dark 
defigns to which their order, after fo long 
preferving its luftre, has been fuhjected. I 
can affure them that views, to which every 
private confideration muft yield, have been 
my fole inducement to undertake this duty* 
This, in the minds of thofe of the order whofe 
approbation is moft to be valued, I doubt 
not will appear a fufScient apology. To thefe 
candid Mafons I hefitate not to fay, that to 
me, a fufpenfion at leaft, of mafonic opera- 
tions, appears to be a meafure, which the fafe- 
,ty of fociety, in its prefent ftate, recommends ; 
and it is difficult to conceive how any perfon, 
who admits the truth of the foregoing ftate- 
ments, can diffent from this idea. It is the 
fentiment of many refpeclable Mafons ; and 
Several lodges in Germany have a&ually 



<zy6 Proofs oftheExiftena 

doled their proceedings, on this principle. It 
is with pleafure I tranfcribe an extract from 
a mafonic oration on fuch an occafion, hop- 
ing, that the example and the fentiments, 
will have their due influence. 

" Brethren and Companions, give free vent 
to your forrow ; the days of innocent equali- 
ty are gone by. However holy our myfteries 
may have been, the lodges are now profaned 
and fullied. Brethren, and companions, let 
your tears flow ; attired in your mourning 
robes attend, and let us feal up the gates of 
our temples, for the profane have found means 
of penetrating into them. They have con- 
verted them into retreats for their impiety, 
into dens of confpirators. Within the facred 
walls they have planned their horrid deeds, 
and the ruin of nations. Let us weep over 
our legions which they have feduced. Lodges 
that may ferve as hiding places for thefe con- 
fpirators muft remain forever fliut, both to us 
and every good citizen."* 

He who thus facrifices his amufements and 
pleafures to the interefts of fociety, acquires a 
dignity beyond what the higheft honors of 
Mafonry can confer. 

* BarruePs Memoirs, Vol. IV. p. 63. 



and Effects of llhminifnn zjy 

8th. Cheerfully fubmit to the reftraints 
which the rules of religion and the good order 
of fociety require. There are principles in the 
human heart which unwillingly endure con- 
trol, and on thefe principles the diforganisers 
of the day place their chief dependence. 
They artfully endeavor to inflame the pafiions, 
to awaken a defire of forbidden objects and 
gratification, and then exhibit the reftraints 
of religion and government, as tyrannically 
oppofing enjoyment. 

This is the true import of liberty and equality ^ 
as the words are ufed by modern impoftors. 
The abufe to which thefe terms are liable is 
obvious ; for, when once unlawful pafiions are 
excited, it becomes an eafy talk to perfuade 
men that whatever checks thofe inclinations, 
is an abridgment of their natural liberty ; 
and w r hen, in this way, a popular torrent is 
formed, in vain religion, order, juftice, or 
humanity oppofe their reftraints. Liberty is a 
vague term, nor do thefe men wilh to define 
it ; they with to have men feel that they are 
injured by whatever cppofes their inclinations, 
and when they have inftilled into them this 
fentiment of fediticn, it is eafy to render men 
hoftile to all the reftraints which religion and 
focial order impofe. This is the liberty which 
% 



278 Proofs of the Exijlence 

Uluminifm has actively propagated. Modern 
philofophers have discovered, that the laws of 
modefty impofe an unjuft reftraint on the 
freedom of the fair fex ; that the fubje&ion 
which children are required -to yield to their 
parents, is an unreasonable ufurpation ; and 
the law which obliges married people to live 
together, after their affections for each other 
are alienated, is tyrannical. 

But you, my countrymen, *o not wifh for 
this kind of liberty. The glory of your con- 
fdtution is, that it preferves the citizens in 
the free enjoyment of their natural rights, 
under the protection of equal laws and impar- 
tial juftice. You wifh to have your lives, 
property, and privileges, both civil and 
religious, preferved to you : Guard then thofe 
of your neighbors ; for know, that the mo- 
ment the enclofures which protect their rights 
are broken down, yours are no longer fecure. 
Whatever weakens the force of moral and 
religious obligations ; whatever leffens the 
reftraints, already fufficiently weak, which the 
laws impofe on the unruly pailions of men., 
proportionally expofes the lives, liberties, and 
property of the quiet part of the community 
to the depredations of , the lawlefs* 



and EjJTefis of lllnminifm. 273 

One of the-moft furprifmg effects attending 
the diforganizing principles of the day, is, 
that men of property fhould be induced to 
give fupport to a fyftem which deftroys the 
barriers by which property is protected. That 
Tome few, who ViAi to acquire influence, and 
mount into plaees of honor and truft, fhould 
adopt thefe fiolenl means to c * burft open the 
doors" leading to the emoluments of office, is 
not,indeed,ftrange; but the quiet, unambitious 
citizen, whofewttf:moft wifh is to preferve the 
fruit of his labohand exertion, muft be com- 
pletely duped not to perceive, that he expofes 
to the greateft hazard* what he is principally 
defirous to preferve. Pleafed with the idea of 
faving a few Ihillings, neceffary for the de- 
fence of his property, he expofes the whole, 

In the fame abfurd manner do they rtafoix, 
who conceive that the perfection of liberty 
confifts in unbounded indulgence. Extremes 
are faid to meet and produce fimilar effefts. 
This maxim applies to the prefent cafe. When 
people grow weary of fubjecting their paffions 
to neceffary refiraints, a ftate of diforder and 
faction enfues. Some popular leader, improv- 
ing his afcendency over the divided, diitraci- 
ed multitude, erects a defpotifm ; and, flatter- 
ing their paffions, he at length eftablifhes his 
authority on a furer bails. 



s8o Proofs of the Exigence 

Read this truth in the hiftory of ancient 
Greece and Rome, See it verified in modern 
France. Advancing, in their own opinion, to 
the very pinnacle of liberty and equality, we fee 
them fuddenly reduced to a ftate of complete 
vaiTalage. The difcerning part of the nation 
were not deceived, but weary of a liberty 
which left no fecurity to their lives or 
property, they acquiefced in the ufurpation of 
the Chief Confal : This isthe natural and una* 
voidable confequence of ligentious indul- 
gences. Hearken not then, my countrymen, 
to thofe, who endeavor to render you diffatis-. 
fied with the reftraints of religion, or the ex- 
penfes neceflary for the maintenance of ufeful 
inftitutions, and the fupport of good govern- 
ment* 




and Effcfts of llluminifrn* 28 1 



TO THE CLERGT. 



AS this fubject is particularly interefting to 
the American Clergy, I beg leave to prefent 
it to them in a point of view, in which it ap- 
pears to me of peculiar importance. 

Fathers and Brethren^ 

WHILE I fee with pleafure your 'exertions 
in oppofition to prevailing inJjdelity, permit me 
to direft your attention to a temptation. 
which, as we learn from the preceding hif- 
torical fketches, the German divines were 
enfnared, viz. that of attempting to reconcile 
infidels to the gofpel, by reducing it to their 
tafte ; either by explaining away 3 or keeping 
out of fight, its offenfive peculiarities. From 
the foregoing recital it appears, that the fecond. 
branch of Illuminifm, the German Union, was 
grafted on a mutilated fyfiem of Chriftianity, 

In the hiftory of the Chriftian church, we 
are often reminded of the injuries 'Chriftianity, 
has received from the attempts of its advo- 
cates to render the g its 



28 ^ Proofs of the Exijlence 

oppofers. Upon this principle, firfl the Oriental, 
then the Platonic, afterwards the Ariftotelian, 
fyftems of philolbphy became, in different 
ages, the flandards for explaining the facred 
writings ; and the doctrines of Infinite "Wif- 
dom have been diftorted into a compliance 
with thofe fyftems of human weaknefs and 
folly. Hence, alfo, arofe the fcheme of an 
hidden meaning, and myftical interpretation, 
fo zealoufiy adopted by Origen and others. 

This doubtlefs has been fometimesdone with 
a friendly deiign, but the confequences have 
always been unhappy ; and unhappy they ever 
muft be. Eefides the impiety of the attempt, 
it is very obvious, that it is merely the cor- 
ruptions, inthefe mutilated fyftems, with which, 
infidels harmonize. Their he'arts are no 
more reconciled to the Go/pel than before ; all 
the advantage refalting to Chriftianity confifts 
in the external aid they afford the caufe ; and 
this is incomparably overbalanced by the in- 
jury done to the purity of its do&rines. Nor 
is even this aid now to be expected ^ for mod- 
ern infidels, renouncing their former pre- 
tended refpecl for natural religion, have taken 
their proper ground, which is abfolute atheifrn. 

" Thus did not Paul." V/hile fully fenfi- 
ble that the gofpel he preached was ? rt a 



and Ejfefts of Illuminifnu 283 

{tumbling block to the Jew, and foolifhnefs 
to the Greek," he complimented neither the 
one nor the other, either by adopting their 
lentiments, or relinquifhing his own j but 
with a resolution worthy the great defender 
of Chriftianity, determined, in face of this 
oppofition, to affert the doftrine of a crucified 
Saviour 5, nay, as if forefeeing the .indireft 
meafures which feme would take to recom- 
mend Chriftianity, he pronounces " him ac- 
curfed who ihould preach another gofpel," 
adding, that by another gofpel * he meant the 
gofpel of Chrift perverted, or corrupted. 

In this he conformed to the will of his Di- 
vine Matter, who ftated unalterably the terms 
of admiffion into his kingdom, declaring 
with the greateft folemnity, that unlefs they 
received the kingdom of God (the fcheme of 
doctrines he taught) with the meeknefs, and 
teachablenefs of little children, they ihould in 
no wife enter therein. It will not be pre- 
tended that he was unmindful of the oppo- 
fition of the human heart to the doctrines he 
taught, but under a full -view of that oppo- 
fition, he demanded for them a ready recep-J 
tion, and the unequivocal fubmiflion of man- 
kind. The triumph of the gofpel is effected not j 
by relinquifhing its demands, in compliance 



i$4 Proofs of the Exiflence 

with the corruptions and caprices of mankind, 
but by fubduing the pride, enmity, and oppc* 
fition of the heart, and " bringing into cap- 
tivity every thought to the obedience c£ 
Chrift." 



I have thus, my countrymen, exprefled my 
fentiments with the freedom which is yet one 
of the happy privileges of our country ; and 
with the faithfulnefs which becomes one who 
fees his fellow men expofed to iminent dan- 
gers, I have never covered a paragraph, on 
any of the fubjects here brought into view, 
by an anonymous publication. By this ob- 
fervation I mean not to criminate, in theleaft 
degree, thofe gentlemen, who, in this way 
have enlightened and inftrucled the public ; 
but it^is moft agreeable to my feelings, efpe- 
cially in prefent circumftances, to make myfelf 
refponfible to the public, for my opinions on 
thefe fubjefts.* 



* Had the proper names of tBe authors been affixed to 
all the publications of the day, it is to be prefumed that 
the clergy would be found chargeable with a fmall pro- 
portion of thofe which have been fc liberally palmed upon 
them without the lead evidence, and plainly with a dcfign 
to injure their characters. 



and Effeffs of Ulummipn. 285 

Confidering the fpirit of the times, a mean- 
ing and defiocn will doubtlefs be attributed to 
the writer which never entered his mind. 
With refped to himfelf, this is a circumftance 
of trifling confequence ; as it refpects the fuc- 
cefs of his labors, he is defirous to remove 
every obftacle j and would therefore obferve, 
that nothing has been introduced into this 
work but what, it was conceived, would ferve 
to give Weight to the directions fuggefted in 
this addrefs. In your attention to there fen- 
timents confifts your ftrength. Your enemies 
muft draw you from this ground before they 
can prevail. Believe in the Lord your. 
God, so shall you be established ; be- 
lieve his PROPHETS, SO SHALL YE PROSPER,* 

# % Chronicles, xx. 20* 



2 8 6 Proofs of the Ekijlena 



CONCLUSION. 



PAINFUL has it been to me, and no lefs 
fo ? I prefume, to the reader, to traverfe thefe 
regions of moral death, and to contemplate 
the direful effects produced by torrents of cor- 
ruption, flowing from the fulnefs of the hu* 
man heart. Gladly would I relieve his mind, 
and my own, with brighter profpe&s and 
more cheerful fcenes ; and fuch prefent them- 
felves to him who meekly receives the inftruc- 
tions of his Maker, and furveys futurity 
with an eye of faith. By this light we dif- 
cover, that the plan of Providence, however 
complicated its operations, is but one ; hav- 
ing for its benevolent objed, the production 
of order out of confufion, of good from evil. 
Under the government of Infinite Wifdom 
and love, this confoling truth is exemplified 
in numberlefs inftances, from the plant, which 
owes its vigor to putrefaction, to the increas- 
ing purification the good man derives from 
conflicts and fufferings ; and from thence to 
the crofs of a Saviour which gave life to the 
world. If we admit this prime truth, we 
need not a fpirit of prophecy to forefee, that 



and Effefis of llhwilnifm. 287 

thefe efforts of infidelity will prepare the way 
for, and haften its deftruftion : That^ the 
eonvulfions excited by thefe diforganizers 
will (but not in the way which they predict, 
nor according to their intentions) purify its 
conftitution, and introduce an healthier ftate 
into fociety : That all the attempts which 
have been made to deftroy the foundations 
of moral obligation, and the evidences of 
Chriftianity, will eventually eftablifh the one, 
and confirm the other. 

Is it afked when this happy era will com- 
mence ? Not perhaps in this theorizing gen- 
eration ; not while men's heads are filled with 
die idea of erecting a peaceful, happy repub- 
lic upon the bafis of atheifm. But the time 
will come, when wifdom will refume her feat, 
and man will fubmit to be taught by experi- 
ence, and by his Maker. Then will his ear 
be opened to the leffons of wifdom, to the 
demonftrations of truth, which the hiftory of 
the prefent period affords.! 

Would it be extravagant to affert, that the 
collected hiftory of all ages and nations, facred 
hiftory excepted, does not furnifh fo much 
important and ufeful inftruction, as will 
probably be derived from the events which 



2S8 Proofs of the Exijlence 

have come into view within the lafl fixty 
years ? In the period referred to, we have 
been prefented with what may be confidered, 
as a courfe of experimental lectures on relig- 
ion, morals, and the interefts of fociety ; in 
which many important principles and truths 
have received a clear illuftration, and been 
dcmonftrated to the fenfes. 

In many excellent treatifes has Chriflianity 
been defended, and the tendency of infidelity, 
in its influence on the mind, and on fociety, 
held up to the public.; but as abftracl reafon- 
ings make but a faint impreffion on the great 
body of mankind, infidels have confidently 
denied the charges brought againft them, 
and the juftnefs of the conclusions drawn 
from their fentiments. Infidels have formed 
the minority in every fociety ; they were 
therefore naturally led to plead for toleration. 
Their principles were under a continual check, 
and a regard to reputation and perfonal fafety, 
induced a compliance with the cuftoms and 
manners of the age. In proof of the import- 
ance of religion to a civil community, the 
advocates of Chriftianity appealed to the flate 
of fociety in heathen nations ; but this did 
not amount to a fair experiment ; for the 
iieathens were not infidels* The fcattered rays 



and Effects of lllumriifnu 

of revelation, collected by their philosophers,- 
produced fomething like a fyftem of religion, 
which, however inadequate to the principal 
purpofes of religion, had a happy effect on* 
fociety and morals. 

Infidelity never before appeared in her prop^ 
er character. Infidels, formerly, fpake much 
of virtue and religion, applauded the morality 5 
of the gofpel,and affected to admire many of its 
dodrines. Lord Herbert calls " the Chriftian, 
the beft religion. " Lord Boiingbroke repre- 
fents " Chriftianity as a moil amiable and 
ufeful inftitution, and that its natural ten- 
dency is to promote the peace and happinefe 
of mankind/ 5 It was plead by the advocates 
of Chriftianity, that whoever had any real 
love to moral beauty could not but embrace 
the gofpel 5 but deifts denied the truth of this 
aflertion, and to fupport their argument, 
were perpetually proclaiming the beauty o£ 
virtue and natural religion. But now it ap- 
pears that all this was a mere fineffe, adapted 
to conceal the fatal tendency of their opinions,, 
Infidelity, confiding in her ftrength, and the 
increafing number of her advocates, has now 
laid afide her mafk, and we have feen her in 
France, fierce, cruel, unjuft, oppreflive, aban- 
doned and profligate, as fne is j rejecting thofe 
A a 



390 Proofs of the Exiftence, &c- 

moral precepts (he once profefled to admire* 
proudly affuming entire independence, and 
ranking the fovereign of heaven with the 
tyrants ofthe earth. 

We have grounds to expect, that the genu- 
tendency, both of infidelity and Chriftian- 
ity, as they refpeci fociety, will be fully and 
undeniably demonstrated. It is undoubtedly 
a part of the fcheme of Providence, to lay 
n the human heart, and to prove important 
truths by convincing experiments. Were 
mankind duly imprefied with that view of 
the tendency of infidelity, which" late events 
have exhibited, it would afford a rational 
hope that its reign would foon ceafe ; but 
while fo many remain unconvinced, there is 
reafoii to fear its more deplorable prevalence, 
before the dawning of that happy day, when 
■Chriftianity, infufing its benign influence into 
every heart, fhall produce permanent peace, 
and the precious fruits of univerfal love. 



F I N I & 



